Growing Up
by TweakerWolf
Summary: Follow up to my story Brothers: The boys were six when they'd been thrown together, Isaac's dad finally taking things too far. Melissa had taken him in and before they knew it, Scott and Stiles fell in love with the boy and offered to be his brothers. In the following months, Melissa had adopted young Isaac and she began to date the Sheriff. This is their life afterwards.
1. Here and There

A/N: Here are some scene about Stiles, Scott, and Isaac growing up, as a follow up from my story Brothers. Eventually as the boys get older, the story will progress as a regular story, but the first few years are just bits and pieces to show how they've come to care for each other.

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><p>Recap: The boys were six when they'd been thrown together, Isaac's dad finally taking things too far. Melissa had taken him in and before they knew it, Scott and Stiles fell in love with the boy and offered to be his brothers. In the following months, Melissa had adopted young Isaac and she began to date the Sheriff. Here are the stories of some of their adventures.<p>

Age 7: Isaac woke up with a scream in his throat, room dark. It wasn't supposed to be dark- where did the night light go? He sat upright, hoping his eyes would adjust to the dark space. It was like the freezer all over again; Isaac started to whimper, he hated the freezer. Had he been bad?

"Isaac? You okay?" a voice mumbled from beside him.

Scott, that was Scott. If Scott was here with him, that meant he wasn't in the freezer, Scott never did anything bad. "The light went out," Isaac mumbled, not wanting to wake up Stiles.

He was in the bedroom, safe, not the freezer, he kept chanted that over and over in his head. Scott sat up and rubbed his eyes, finally noticing just how dark the room was.

"Oh, maybe the light broke," Scott said. He carefully climbed out of the bed and turned on the overhead light. As the bulb chased away the dark, Isaac felt the knot of tension in his stomach relax, his heart quieting down as well.

"I'll tell Mommy," Scott offered, unplugging the nightlight from the wall and opening the door.

Stiles rolled over then, "Why is the light on?"

Isaac looked down at his lap, he knew Stiles would never call him a baby, but he was still a little ashamed at his reaction. Heaving a sigh, Isaac confessed, "I woke up all of a sudden and the light was gone. I got scared."

"Oh, did Scott go get another one?" Stiles asked.

Isaac nodded his head, lying back down and trying to get comfortable again. It was only a few minutes before Melissa came in with Scott trailing behind her, a fresh nightlight bulb ready.

"Are you boys going to be able to go back to bed?" she asked.

All of them nodded and curled up together, Melissa came and gave them all another goodnight kiss and switched off the big light. Isaac held his breath, just in case the darkness came flooding back, but the nightlight switched on just like it should.

"Thanks Scott," Isaac mumbled, curling up next to him again.

Age 9: "Mooooooom, what's for dinner?" Stiles asked, yelling it from the top of the stairs.

"Stiles, don't tell across the house," John called out as he was getting ready to go to work.

"But you just did!" Stiles commented, still yelling.

Melissa appeared in the hallway, looking up at Stiles, "I'm making enchiladas, no olives just for you Stiles."

"Thanks!" he smiled, then ran back into the bedroom to work on his homework before dinner.

Melissa stood there, hand over her mouth the hide her smile as John came down the stairs, "Did you hear that John? He called me Mom."

"I did, I wasn't sure if he would, we talked about it a lot back when we first got married," John told her.

Upstairs, the boys were having a similar conversation, Scott and Isaac of course noticing the change in Stiles.

"Stiles, you know you just called my mom Mom right?" Scott asked, wanting to make sure Stiles wasn't forgetting.

Just last night, the boys had woken up to Stiles having another panic attack, brought on by a nightmare. Stiles kept having a reoccurring dream that his dad wasn't coming home, because he got shot. This time, Stiles had told them, his Mom came and was the one to deliver the news, and that made it feel more real- that Dad was going to live with Mom now. It had taken Scott and Isaac awhile to get Stiles's breathing back to normal, both of them just hugging him and telling him to breathe like they were. It was scary but Isaac was proud that they were able to calm him down without needing to call Melissa.

"Yea, I know I did," was all Stiles said.

"Why?" Isaac asked, wanting to know what changed. For Isaac, it was still a little weird, he called her Mom when he talked to her, but in his head, he still referred to her as Melissa. He was torn, feeling like it wasn't fair to his real mom, so he could understand Stiles's hesitation as well.

Stiles shrugged, "After last night… I don't know things are different. I will always love my Mommy, the one you didn't get to meet. She is my Mommy. Just like you will always love your Mommy too Isaac; but Melissa, she's taking care of us now. She loves us, and she doesn't want to replace our Mommies, she just wants to be our new Mommy. Dad 'splained it to me awhile ago- Mommy will always be in my heart, and I'll never forget her, but my heart has lots and lots of room for love. I'm allowed to love Scott's mom as my mom and still love my old Mommy."

Stiles paused, forehead creased because he felt like he wasn't making sense, but Isaac jumped in, realizing what Stiles was trying to say.

"Like when she took me to the courthouse and told the judge she wanted to keep me forever and ever! She said that she could never replace my Mommy, and didn't want to, she just wanted to fill up the space that got left behind. Now I can tell everyone that I've got to have two Mommies that have loved me. Just like I call Sheriff Dad now too; it was weird at first, but I know they both love me and want to be my parents."

"Well, I'm glad you are going to call her Mom now Stiles, you too Isaac. Now it really feels like we're brothers. Our old families might have been a little broken, but that meant there was room for us all to find each other and build a new family. Now we can have even more love than before!"

The boys all smiled at each other, feeling like things were just better now. They knew that when Melissa adopted them, and John had adopted them, after they got married that they were one big family. But up to this point, it felt more like one big sleepover instead of being real brothers. Now that everyone was comfortable with calling them Mom and Dad, it felt real, and they couldn't be happier.

Age 9: Melissa rounded the boys up, she wanted to go over the rules again before Laura arrived to babysit them.

"Moooooom, we're nine now, Stiles is almost ten, we don't need a babysitter no more," Scott whined.

Stiles and Isaac both nodded their heads, although all three of them loved when Laura Hale baby-sat them. She was a lot of fun and didn't treat them like little babies.

"Oh yes you do!" Melissa disagreed. "Last time I left you alone for 15 minutes when I went next door to talk to Mr. Lasher, someone broke a window and ended up needing stitches."

Stiles smiled guiltily at that comment, they had been playing with a bouncy ball and Stiles had the brilliant idea to bounce it as hard as he could! Then when the window broke, he tried to clean it up so no one would get hurt… it really wasn't his fault that he slipped and landed on a really big piece of glass. Scott had gone into such a panic, Isaac had to run to the bathroom and grab his inhaler- both of them freaked a little with all the blood.

"Besides, I know that Laura is your favorite babysitter, you'll have fun tonight. Now, rules: Laura is in charge, like always, what she says goes. Since it's Saturday, bedtime isn't until 10 o'clock, and when it's bedtime, no fussing. Dad and I will be back by 11 at the latest, and like always we'll come up and see you when we get back. No scary movies, no scary stories, and no late night desserts. Laura has offered to cook for you and dinner will be at around 5. Any questions?"

"What if we can't sleep?" Isaac asked. He hated when they went out late… even though they deserved to have grown-up time. It made him nervous that they might not come home- what if there was an accident? Stiles could tell what was going on in his brother's head, it happened every time.

He wrapped his arm around his brother, "Mommy says we can read a book if we aren't sleepy. Remember?"

Melissa smiled, knowing that all three boys would probably still be up by the time her and John came home. Isaac was a worrier and Scott and Stiles would always stay up with him so he didn't get lonely. "Stiles is right, Laura knows that you can have the desk light on for reading. But no playing or loud noises."

"We can only be in bed and reading quietly," Isaac finished, smile on his face. It comforted him that Melissa always answered his questions- even when he asked the same ones every time they left for a date night.

"Are the boys all caught up on the rules?" John asked, coming down the stairs.

"Yes Sir!" the boys all laughed.

"Good, Laura should be here soon, are you boys going to behave yourselves?"

All three of them shook their heads and giggled, "Never!"

John and Melissa both rolled their eyes, despite their high energy levels, the boys were almost always well behaved. Especially if Laura was watching them; they really only got into trouble when they were left to their own devices. The doorbell rang and Melissa excused herself to go let Laura in, John kneeling down to give the boys a hug.

"We'll see you in a few hours okay? Love you."

"Love you back!" the boys called out, rushing in for their hugs.

"So, which one of you runts is getting tied up tonight?" Laura called out.

"Me, me, me," all three of them cried out, racing to greet Laura.

It hadn't taken long for the boys to tell Laura about their favorite pastime; at first Melissa had been worried about it, but it didn't take long for Stiles to convince her that it was good practice. Especially with what had happened with Mr. Lahey a couple of years ago.

"I swear, someone is going to think we're abusing them," Melissa complained.

Laura laughed, "Naw, everyone knows you love these boys. And with the Sheriff as their dad, it's not the big of a stretch. I mean, I know how to slip out of a pair of handcuffs."

"Do I want to know that?" John asked.

"Oh, um, not for running from the police, I'd never get arrested. But if someone kidnapped me or something, you know, being a woman and all," Laura explained, really it was only a slight lie. It wasn't because she was a woman that her father had trained her- it was because of the Argents.

"Of course you'd never be arrested, you're a good girl," Melissa commented, knowing the Hales were a respectable family.

After one more round of good-byes, John and Melissa left, not wanting to miss the movie. As soon as the door closed, Isaac went and jumped on the couch, grabbing the remote and asking if he could turn on cartoons.

"Yea, of course Isaac," Laura said, Isaac was her favorite, mostly because he was so quiet.

Stiles came into the living room, carefully carrying one of the chairs from the kitchen table, Scott right behind him with the rope.

"Laura, Laura, tie us up!" they pleaded, eager to prove that this time they could untie themselves.

"Okay, but you only have until dinner! After that we're going to watch a movie together," Laura warned.

She tied Stiles to the chair, wrapping the rope around his torso loosely and tied it off using a simple knot. Then she had Scott sit on the floor and tied his hands behind his back. Isaac watched as they began to wriggle around doing their best to get loose; Stiles had talked Isaac into trying it once, but he didn't last long. He hated feeling helpless and Laura had to untie him before he started crying. After that, Stiles apologized and didn't suggest it again, saying Isaac could try whenever he was ready.

"While you two pests are trying to get free, what do you want for dinner?"

"Ice cream?" Scott tried, knowing she'd say no- but it couldn't hurt to ask!

"Spaghetti, with no sauce," Isaac said.

"But the sauce is the best," Scott pouted.

"No, it's icky," Isaac argued.

"I can make spaghetti and the sauce separate, so you can put as much on it as you want Scotty. Is that okay with you Stiles?"

Instead of answering, Stiles complained, "You cheated Laura, you put a tautline hitch on this!"

"I don't even know what that is! Come on boy scout, you can untie it," Laura said, figuring that he must not have a problem with spaghetti.

Isaac turned back to the tv, curling up next to Laura as he laughed at Spongebob. The time passed slowly, 2 episodes going by before Scott finally pulled free of his bonds.

"I did it!" he cried out, holding the rope above his head.

Isaac and Laura cheered for him, making room on the couch so he could watch with them. After awhile Spongebob ended and Rocket Power came on, all three boys cheering- they really enjoyed this show.

"Stiles, I'm going to get started on dinner okay, don't tip over the chair while I'm not looking."

"I'll be out of this by then, promise!" Stiles grunted, face scrunched up in concentration.

Laura laughed to herself as she walked into the kitchen, Stiles was tenacious at least. As she crossed the hallway, she stopped suddenly, hearing someone sneaking around out front. After a quick glance in the living room to make sure the boys were occupied, she crept to the front door and looked out the peephole, a low growl coming from her throat when she saw who was there.

"What do you want Argent?" she called through the door. "It sure looks suspicious when you're sulking about in the front yard of the Sheriff's house."

"Open the door Hale," a woman's voice said.

The boys leaned over the back of the couch, "Who's that Laura?"

"No one, don't worry about it."

"Hale, open the door or we'll kick it in, we have reason to be worried about the boys."

"I would never hurt them!" Laura snarled.

She heard a dark laugh from the yard, "Yea, but I'm sure you can understand our concern, considering what time of the month it is."

That witch! Did she really think she couldn't control herself around the full moon! She was a born wolf, she had her anchor- she wasn't a pup anymore.

"Come on Laura, you know the deal," a second voice said, that had to be Chris.

"Laura?" Isaac asked, eyes wide.

"It's okay Isaac, don't worry," Laura soothed. With a sigh, she unlocked the front door and glared and Chris, Kate, and their lackeys.

"What the-" Chris said suddenly, spotting Stiles from the doorway. He pushed his way inside.

"Hey, you can't just come in here," Laura said, turning to run after him, but Kate grabbed her by the hair.

"Easy girl," she said in a condescending tone."

"Laura!" Scott cried out, grabbing Isaac and dragging him towards Stiles.

Laura cursed herself, she hadn't thought about the fact Stiles was still tied to the chair, of course Chris would take that the worst way possible. And with the boys watching, she wasn't going to chance wolfing out- that would only give Kate satisfaction.

"No, don't untie me, don't untie me! Who are you, go away, Dad is the Sheriff, you can't just come in here!" Stiles yelled out, trying to protect his brothers even though he was absolutely helpless.

"Stay away from them!" Laura called out. "Stiles is just practicing, I'm not trying to hurt them!"

"Yea, I'm going to be an escape artist, so if you untie me, you'll ruin it!" Stiles told them, fingers working furiously at the ropes.

Chris heaved a sigh, he should have figured as much, but Kate had convinced him that Laura might try something tonight. He didn't ask how she knew where Laura would be tonight, he knew Kate wouldn't give away her contact.

Chris started to walk back to the front door when Stiles let out a triumphant yell and leapt from the chair, kicking the strange man in the back of his leg before ushering the other two boys back to the safe room, telling Laura they'd call Dad. Laura smirked as Chris rubbed his calf, he hadn't been expecting the young boy to actually hit him, and now they were going to call the Sheriff. Great.

"Kate, get out of here, I'll handle the Sheriff. God this is a mess," Chris complained.

Kate released Laura's hair and walked away, quickly climbing into one of the SUVs and driving away with the others.

"How dare you just come in here! You know I'm not a threat to those boys!"

"As per the deal we set up with your mother, we have the right to keep tabs on the Hale family around the full moon. We take the threat of an accidental bite very serious, and when we found out you'd be watching three very rambunctious children, we were concerned. Who knows, they may have angered you and you could lash out," Chris theorized.

"I've been watching these boys for years! I would never lash at out them, no matter how 'rambunctious' they might get. They are good boys!"

Chris nodded his head, "I didn't realize you've known them for so long. I apologize if I've upset them. Kate seemed sure that you were… unstable."

"Oh yea, being a teenager and all, very unstable," Laura growled.

Chris stepped out onto the front steps to wait for one of the deputies to show up. He had to give the young Hale credit, throughout the whole encounter, she never once flashed her eyes or fangs, she had amazing control. Clearly Kate was just looking for trouble.

It wasn't long before they saw the sirens, Laura pulling out her cell phone to call Melissa herself. She knew they'd be worried about the kids but she didn't want them to rush home and miss dinner. As Chris started talking with the deputy, Laura gave Melissa details.

"Everything is fine, it was just a misunderstanding," Laura explained. "The boys are fine, maybe a little shook up, but they are still in the safe room, no one got hurt."

Melissa asked if they should come home, but Laura assured her it was unnecessary, John leaned towards the phone to say that the boys agreed- everything was fine. Melissa sighed but decided not to argue.

"Call us if anything else comes up!" Melissa said.

"Of course Mrs. Stilinski, I will. I've got to give my statement to Deputy Stone now."

During the phone conversation, she'd listened in to what Mr. Argent had said, not wanting to completely get the story wrong. Apparently, he'd been driving by and had seen a child tied up to a chair and had been concerned. He got Laura to open the door and confronted her but the boys said they were just playing and then ran off to the safe room and called the Sheriff.

"Ok Miss Hale, time for your statement. Are you going to want to press charges?"

"No, I called the Stilinskis already and they said it was just a mistake, unless you think otherwise."

Deputy Stone looked back at Chris and then the open curtains, so far everything seemed to check out, although he had no idea what 'errand' could possibly have him driving down this street at dinner time.

"Well, I was just getting ready to make dinner when there was this frantic knocking at the door, I thought maybe someone needed help, so I opened it a crack. He pushed his way in, concerned for Stiles and scared the crap out of me, some strange man just barging into the house like that. As you know, the boys love to play escape, and I guess he must have seen that or something. Stiles managed to get free and he kicked the man in the leg and ran into the safe room. Are you going to need to talk to them?"

Deputy Stone shook his head, "No, no need to get them all riled up, Stiles would end up asking more questions than actually answering mine. I'll file a report and Sheriff can get back to me on what he thinks. Call us if he comes back okay?"

"Will do, thank you for coming out."

Laura watched as Chris climbed back into his car and drove off, then Stone did the same; she closed the door and locked it, she needed to call Mom about all of this. It would have to wait though, first she needed to check on the boys. As she walked into the office, the boys already had to door open, waiting for her.

"Why did that man come into the house Laura?" Stiles asked, taking charge like always.

Laura knelt down and opened her arms, hugging the boys as she explained. "Apparently he saw you tied up when he drove by, and was worried there was a robber in the house. So he wanted to check on you, and it was just a misunderstanding."

Stiles narrowed his eyes, "But what about that lady? She was mean to you. Why didn't she talk to the cops too?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure it wasn't important. Deputy Stone thinks everything is fine," Laura evaded. Stiles was pretty sharp, she'd have to make sure that he didn't mention that part to his parents later. "Are you boys ready for dinner now? And congratulations Stiles, you got out of the chair this time!"

Stiles beamed and lead the way into the kitchen, Isaac and Scott clinging together as they followed. Laura sighed, poor Isaac, it had been a few years since the ordeal with his dad, but clearly he was still very skittish and unsure. Luckily Stiles and Scott bounced back from things fairly quick and were always around to bring Isaac out of his nervous state. The boys helped her to make dinner, getting utensils for her, setting timers, and even setting the table. Thankfully the rest of the night went smoothly, Stiles and Scott getting all the sauce they wanted and Isaac kept his noodles tomato free. By the time Laura herded them to bed, the boys had put the ordeal behind them, talking instead about which book they wanted Laura to read them.

Once she got them all tucked in, lamp light on so they could sit and read to themselves quietly, Laura went back downstairs and called her mom. If the Argents wanted to keep tabs on them, the Hales were going to return the favor.

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><p>AN: Just a few quick drabbles, things that I thought were fun and also milestones in a way, like Stiles finally deciding to call Melissa Mom. Hoping to have another chapter up next week some time, not making any promises though, I also have my Dramione stuff to work on (like desperately) and also my Wasteland story as well.


	2. The Hale Fire

A/N: I realized as I was writing this that Sheriff Stilinski was technically Deputy Stilinski at the time of the fire and before. I am toooootally used to him just being the Sheriff that I wrote him that way XD my bad. So he's just going to be the Sheriff for a super long time because he's really good at his job and everyone loves him! Also, the boys are super perceptive in this story, given what has happened to all of them, so don't be surprised by what they pick up on given their age.

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><p><strong>Age 10:<strong> The boys scrambled to the hallway as they heard their dad take a call; this one seemed really important. They watched as his face fell, asking if they knew how many were in the house; they looked at each other and wondered what might be happening. John rushed out of the house.

"Mom, what's going on?" Scott asked, noticing her pale face.

"There is a fire, at the Hale house."

The kids cried out, firing questions left and right, but Melissa had no answers for them, not even knowing how had been in the house when the fire was started. They huddled around Melissa's legs, fearing for Laura and her family; they had met Mrs. Hale once, and Derek a few times, everything about her family had seemed so nice. Laura didn't deserve this. A few hours went by and the boys couldn't take it anymore.

"Can we go see Dad at the station? I want to know Laura and her family are okay," Stiles begged.

Melissa sighed, she knew the deputies were all going to be busy, trying to figure out what was happening and taking statements. Three worried boys weren't exactly going to be welcomed, but it seemed unfair to keep them in the dark. "We'll only stay for a few minutes, Dad is really busy and I'm sure the other officers are as well. Plus the Hales are probably feeling just awful over this so no bothering them. Go get some jackets and shoes, I'll meet you at the front door."

All three of them nodded and ran to their rooms to grab their jackets and shoes; they usually slept together in the same room, but there was no way all of their stuff was going to fit. They dressed quickly and scampered down the stairs, hearts racing, Laura's family needed to be okay. Isaac climbed into the middle seat of the car, Scott and Stiles on either side as usual, buckling in and staying quiet.

As Melissa pulled into the police parking lot, she saw that everything was a flurry of activity, just like she'd suspected. "You boys stay close to me, hold hands at all times okay. I don't want any of you getting knocked to the side or stepped on."

"Yes Mom," They all whispered, looking at the activity. They'd come to visit John a few times and they'd never seen the station like this.

Melissa led the way, Scott following behind her and holding onto her jacket with one hand and Isaac with the other; Stiles brought up the rear making sure that Isaac didn't get jostled too much. As they entered the station, Deputy Stone waved to them, letting them come back, he knew that the boys were probably scared for Laura. They took this as a good sign, that meant someone was hear, not at the hospital. When they left the lobby and entered the main part of the station, Melissa told the boys to sit down on the chairs and wait for her. They did what they were told, silently looking around at all the people.

"Hey, Laura, there she is!" Isaac called out, pointing across the room to the other chairs.

"And Derek too right, that's Derek?" Scott asked, seeing another teenager sitting next to her.

"Come on, let's go say hi," Stiles suggested. "As long as we stay together, it should be okay."

The boys all stood up and carefully made their way through the busy adults, holding hands the whole time. They carefully stood around Laura and Derek, noticing the large amount of soot covering their faces and hands.

"Hi Laura, can we… sit with you?" Stiles asked. He knew better than to say he was sorry, or ask about what happened. The worst question they could ask right now was if they were okay… he could tell by the empty look in their eyes that they weren't, not even close.

"Oh, hey boys… Yea, um sure, you can sit here," Laura mumbled.

Isaac crawled up into the seat next to her, resting his head on her arm, Scott on his other side. Stiles went and took the seat next to Derek, knowing he was probably feeling awful too.

"Don't talk to me," Derek growled. He ignored the sharp look that Laura sent him, he wasn't their baby-sitter so he didn't have to be nice to them at all. Clearly he wasn't in the mood to talk… his whole family was dead.

"I won't talk, just sit with you," Stiles promised. He did reach out and wrap his small fingers in Derek's larger hand, wanting the older boy to understand he was there for him. Tears stung his eyes as they sat there; he knew the Hales were a big family, so where were the rest of them?

Derek looked down, surprised at the sudden pang of sadness he felt from the boy, this wasn't like the Stiles he was used to at all. He didn't dwell on it too long, just gripped his hand a little tighter and leaned into his sister. They were all still sitting like that when John and Melissa found them.

"Come on boys, we have to go home now," Melissa whispered, tears still in her eyes.

"But Mom… Laura and Derek need us," Scott cried out.

"Actually I'm going to be taking them to the hospital now, to see their other sister Cora," John explained.

"Cora is okay?" Derek asked, looking up at the Sheriff.

"Yes, the hospital just called me and said she's stable now. The worst of it was smoke inhalation with only a few burns, we got her out in time," John revealed. "I'm sorry about the rest of your family."

The boys all started to cry then, realizing what John's words meant. The Hale family was gone, except for three kids. Melissa shushed them and gathered them around her as John led the teens out to his cruiser.

"Mommy, what's going to happen to them?" Isaac asked.

"I don't know, there is a lot going on right now. It will all take a while to sort out, but we should go home so we aren't in the way."

Melissa took the boys back out to the car, her heart heavy… John had told her that by the time he'd gotten there, the home had been reduced to ashes. The firefighters had only managed to grab Cora because she had been in her bedroom and managed to jump out of her window. They had been completely baffled as to how none of the other managed to escape before the fire consumed them. Laura and Derek had been fine because they weren't home at the time, coming home just before the firefighters.

When she got the boys into the house, she made them all hot chocolate and sat them on the couch, knowing they were going to have questions.

*Meanwhile*

"Why were those boys sitting with us Laura?" Derek asked as John drove them to the hospital. "It's not like they can do anything."

"Derek, they all come from broken families… they were just trying to help, one kid to another," Laura whispered.

"What are you talking about, they are all perfectly happy with the Sheriff and Melissa!" Derek muttered, crossing his arms. They had what he was never going to get again!

"They don't talk about it, but every one of them has lost a parent. Isaac was there the night his father murdered his mom and brother. Or did you forget about that?" Laura accused. She knew Derek was hurting, she was too! But he didn't need to take it out on them, they were only 10. "They recognized our pain and wanted to share the burden, don't hate them for that. Hate the bitch that did this!"

Derek looked down at his hands, ashamed… They had no way to really prove it, but they caught Kate's scent on a few trees as they scrambled to the house. It was just a whiff before the acrid smell of smoke over powered it, but there was no mistaking it, and it was fresh. Laura didn't know, surely if she did she would have killed him already… This was all his fault, and he had no idea what to do.

**Christmas Eve, that year:** "John, we should have them over. Or at least ask. I know they have nowhere else to go, and they are bound to feel really lonely," Melissa pleaded. It had been 4 months since the fire and the kids were all living in a small apartment with Laura since she was 18.

"I can ask, but they probably just want to shut themselves in and be together," John said.

"I know, and that is horribly depressing. At least this way I know they'll get a good meal, and they won't have to listen to people knocking on their door all day, they can leave whenever they want," Melissa bargained.

John caved, "I guess it can't hurt to ask, although I'm sure you would have gone anyways, even if I didn't agree to it."

Melissa hugged her husband, "I would have, and that's why I married you, you're a smart man. Easier to go with the flow in these circumstances."

John unmuted the television as his wife went up the stairs to gather up the boys, he knew they'd want to go see Laura, even if it only was for a few minutes. It was still early in the morning and the boys were still asleep since they were on vacation.

"Well, if you can believe it, only Isaac is up and willing to go, Scott and Stiles stayed up a little too late last night reading comic books. Poor Isaac just couldn't keep his eyes open as long as them," Melissa shared as she reentered the living room.

"I'm sure they aren't too happy about missing out on this," John said, an upturn to his lips.

"Yea, they are upset but they can't keep their eyes open let alone roll themselves out of bed so they have to stay here. Going to have to wait for another time to see Laura, hopefully tomorrow morning," Melissa smiled.

It only took Isaac a few moments to come walking down the stairs, rubbing his eyes as he tried to pull his jacket on with one hand. "Are we going now, can I have some toast first?"

"Yes you can have toast, I don't want to take you out if you haven't even eaten yet," Melissa told the boy. "Breakfast is important, I always tell you guys that, come one, what kind of cereal did you want with your toast?"

"Cap'n Crunch please," Isaac smiled, following his mom into the kitchen.

About thirty minutes later the pair of them were headed out the door and to the Hales's apartment. Melissa led him up to the door and let him knock; while they waited Melissa wondered if maybe they should have called ahead to let them know she was coming. It was too easy to assume that they wouldn't answer the door, just want to be left alone all day. But before she could dwell on it too long, Laura opened the door.

"Hey, sorry for making you wait, Cora and Derek were having a rather… aggressive discussion, and I was playing the mediator, what's going on?"

Melissa could see that she was exhausted, her pupils were dilated and she kept glancing around- sure signs of anxiety. It wasn't hard to guess why, this was a pretty traditional family holiday and the Hales had all lived together in that large home. She couldn't image what Thanksgiving might have been like for them- she had tried to come find them that time as well but there had been a note on the door saying they weren't home and to not bother knocking.

"Hi Laura! We wanted to ask you a question," Isaac told her, a big smile on his face.

Laura knelt down, "And what's that Little Man?"

"Will you please come spend Christmas with us tomorrow?"

Melissa saw Laura's face fall, even though she did her best to keep the smile on her face. She decided to speak up, before Laura could turn them down, "I know that the holidays can't be easy for you; heck I know taking care of your two younger siblings is probably taking a huge toll on you. I just, was hoping that we could provide with a nice home cooked meal, one that you don't have to prepare. I know this season can't be easy for you, and I understand if you don't want to be around for the presents, but please come for the meal."

Isaac leaned in, doing his best to whisper as quietly as he could, "If you come, I just know Mom will make an extra pie for you guys, whichever you want."

"I also know that if you hide out at our house you won't have to be dealing with any other people stopping by trying to give you food," Melissa bargained.

"Oh please Laura, can we? I can't be shut in this apartment all weekend, I'm going to go crazy!" Cora called out from further in the apartment.

"Well I guess that settles it, what time do you want us there?" Laura sighed. If Cora was willing to go then surely the two of them could bully Derek into going as well.

"We're getting up at around 8 to start cooking everything, well the rest of the food. I am making some of it today, but things like the ham and turkey have to be done tomorrow. You can come over any time after that, the kids will be working on gingerbread houses probably around 10, there will be plenty of it if you want to help them."

"I can make the cranberry sauce, I'd feel awful if we didn't at least bring something with us," Laura offered.

Cora popped up next to her sister, "Yea, Mom had a really awesome recipe… I'm sure Laura will be able to do a good job."

"Yay, I can't wait to try it," Isaac exclaimed, hugging Laura's legs. "I'm really glad you are coming, Stiles and Scott will be really happy to see you."

Laura couldn't help but laugh, "Let me guess, they stayed up too late and weren't able to come with you to invite me?"

"Yea, it was the comic books," Melissa revealed. "If you want, you can come hide out at our house tonight too, I know the boys wouldn't mind at all. Just, you know, if you want or need to."

"Thank you Mrs. Stilinski, that means a lot," Laura said with a sad smile.

As soon as Melissa and Isaac were back in their car, Derek came out of his room, "Why are we going out tomorrow? This is a family holiday!"

"And we'll all be together! Just at the Stilinski house instead of this crummy apartment," Cora shot back, eyes flashing amber.

"I don't want to spend time with them… they are too happy and it reminds me of what we don't have anymore!" Derek growled, flashing his blue eyes at his sister.

"We're all still hurting Derek, but I'm tired of being alone with just you two! At least those boys will help distract me from my pain. And don't flash your cold blue eyes at me, just because you have a broken soul doesn't mean I do!"

"Cora!" Laura chastised, her growl silencing the both of them. "The Stilinskis are being kind enough to welcome us into their home, and out of all the people that have stopped by here in the past months, at least they've never once offered lame sympathies. They all know what it's like to lose someone; even those boys know how stupid it is to offer weak 'I'm sorry for your loss' statements."

"But Laura, I just don't want to go," Derek argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Will you tell me why not? I'd rather not leave you here alone all day with microwavable food as the only source of sustenance."

"I don't want to be around cheerful people and a family that just has all the luck, it makes me sick right now," Derek explained.

Cora snorted, "You do know that as the Sheriff, Mr. Stilinski has a chance of never going home again right? You know that Mrs. Stilinski and the boys live with that every day and they still find a way to smile. I remember Mom telling us that Mr. Lahey could have killed them, if Melissa hadn't known what to do."

"Der, do you think Mom would want you to sit here, all alone on her favorite holiday? I'm sure they will understand if you just sit in the corner and brood all day, but at least go and eat with us. We are still your family and Cora wants to go; I for one am already looking forward to not having to cook," Laura said.

"Fine, I'll go, but I'm not doing any gingerbread stuff, and I'm not playing games with the kids…"

-Christmas Day-

Melissa smiled to herself as the doorbell rang, right at 10 o'clock, asking for Stiles to get the door since she was at the stove.

"Hi, I'm so glad you guys came," Stiles cheered when he saw the Hales standing at the doorstep.

"We're glad you invited us into your home," Laura told him.

Derek scowled but followed his sisters inside and let Stiles close the door behind him- he was already feeling overwhelmed but he couldn't back out now. He watched as Laura went into the kitchen to give Mrs. Stilinski the cranberry sauce, and Scott quickly grabbed Cora and pulled her into the living room, he chose the lesser of two evils and went into the kitchen.

"Oh that looks amazing, and there should be room for it in the fridge since the ham and turkey aren't in there anymore. The gingerbread fun is in the living room, which must be where Cora got pulled into. Or if you prefer, you can help out in the kitchen, I'd say you could hang out with John, but he won't be here until 2."

"He's working today?" Derek asked.

"Yea, a lot of the younger deputies have the early Christmas thing, so John and the older guys help out and volunteer so everyone has a chance to be home. I've always done more of a dinner thing anyways so it works out. John always said that it wouldn't be fair of him if he used his position as Sheriff to get out of the holiday hours," Melissa explained.

"Well he's doing really good, a lot of the deputies seem happy with him from what I've gathered, especially with him being so young," Laura commented.

Derek watched for a few minutes as Laura immediately started helping out in the kitchen, and he listened to the boys telling Cora about their epic ideas for gingerbread castles. He didn't really know where he'd feel more comfortable.

"Hey, Derek, if you want you can go upstairs into the office and maybe pick out a book? I'm not sure if you're much of a reader, but something tells me you aren't much of a cookie builder," Melissa offered.

"Okay, thanks," Derek said, hoping he didn't look too surprised. He slipped out of the kitchen and easily found the office; his eyes scanned the bookshelf appreciating the wide collection. "No way," he mumbled to himself when he saw that they had a copy of Just After Sunset by Stephen King. Derek carefully pulled it from the shelf, he'd been looking at this book, King's short stories were just amazing. After a breath, Derek slid the dust cover off the hardback, knowing that Laura would get mad if he didn't at least read downstairs- at least this way the cover wouldn't get trashed.

Laura and Melissa smiled at each other as they saw Derek come back downstairs and sit himself at the breakfast table. Hopefully he'd come out of his shell a little bit once dinner came around, but for now they'd leave him be. A few hours later when John was coming in the front door, he was bombarded by the boys.

"Dad, Dad, you have to come see the gingerbread castle! Cora helped us all and she's amazing! We all worked together and built one big one!" Scott yelled out, jumping around the entryway in his excitement.

"We've got walls and towers and everything!" Stiles tacked on as he hugged his dad.

"Mom, you have to come see it too," Isaac called out, racing into the kitchen as his brothers led John into the living room. "Laura, Derek come see what Cora helped us make."

Derek couldn't help but cringe at the sudden increase in volume, this was why he didn't really like younger kids… they just got so loud when they were excited. He had absolutely no idea how Laura could babysit all three of them at one time. But he did get up and follow everyone else into the living room, letting out a low whistle.

"We used all of the frosting and just about all the gingerbread, so I hope no one was wanting to snack on those. But we present, the Halinski Castle, name thanks to Isaac here," Cora presented.

"Cora did all the frosting glue while Scott and I held the pieces for her, and then we each got a section to decorate with the candy," Stiles explained. "I got to do the walls, Isaac did all the awesome paths and the candy moat, and Scott got the towers. Cora did the main part of the castle since she is the oldest and did a lot of the important stuff."

"This is really amazing!" Melissa exclaimed, already pulling out the camera. "Go ahead and get behind it so I can get a picture of you all with it."

Cora bit her lip, knowing that Melissa would want her in there with the boys but when they got the film done they'd be ruined because of her eyes. Laura got her attention and subtly mimicked giving a huge cheesy smile, so her eyes would be closed. That worked, if anything Melissa might think that she was blinking but that was a lot better than eye shine. She let the boys stand close to the castle and she leaned over them, doing a silly pose to match theirs.

"Okay, now, what are we going to do with that castle?" Laura asked. "I'd hate to destroy it, but gingerbread is just so yummy."

The boys watched as she grabbed one of the extra pieces of cookie and ate it, Isaac running over to her first as she eyed the castle, "No Laura, you can't eat the castle!"

"But we always eat our houses," Stiles reminded him.

"Stiles, this is the best one that we've ever made before though," Scott mumbled.

"That just means it will be extra yummy when we get to dismantle it!"

"Why don't you boys take a vote on it, I'm going to change out of my uniform, just don't ruin your supper," John laughed.

Derek expected the boys to argue over it, for Stiles to start taking some of the candy off which would make Isaac cry or something; everyone knew that little kids were brats. But to his surprise, the three of them looked at each other and seemed to have reached a consensus without words.

Stiles cleared his throat, "Derek, what do you think? Cora says that you really, really like gingerbread, and since we used it all that means you can't just eat it. We'll share it with you if you want, since Cora already told us that it's okay to eat."

"What about Isaac?" Derek asked, looking at the boy in front of Laura.

"I don't want to destroy it because we worked hard on it… I say the same thing every year," Isaac mumbled, hands twisting in the hem of his shirt. He was used to his family knowing about his habits, but he forgot that Derek didn't know him that well. "Stiles is right though, we eat the houses every year, but only after Mom gets a picture of it. It's not as much fun if you don't eat them."

"I always promised to be nice to my new brothers, if Isaac really didn't want to eat it, I wouldn't take it down," Stiles said solemnly.

"Yea, but we want to share it with you, since you are our guests, so you get to have the first piece, or you can take it home if you want instead," Scott offered.

Derek couldn't understand why these boys acted so selfless, they were 10- they had every reason to act selfish as much as they could. But instead they were letting him decide on what to do, he didn't even help build the darn thing… He looked down when Stiles suddenly took his hand and pulled him further into the room, smiling up at him.

"Have some, it's okay, really."

Derek cleared his throat, he was 16 and was not going to cry in front of these boys; when Stiles took his hand, he felt this immense surge of warmth and caring. He had no idea how this boy knew he was hurting inside and was offering him compassion when he didn't even deserve it… all under the guise of a stupid gingerbread house. Stiles, Scott, and Isaac were all looking at Derek with such honesty and openness, they wanted him to know that it was okay to feel happy today, despite his family not being here with him; they had no way of knowing the guilt he was hiding. He cleared his throat again, determined to keep up the charade, for their sakes, "I call the drawbridge."

Laura laughed suddenly, releasing the tension that had been building up inside- she had sensed the melancholy coming from Derek and had been hoping that he wouldn't lose it here. Not that they would have judged him for it, but she knew that Derek would never let himself live it down. She watched as he reached over and snagged the drawbridge, the boys waiting until he's taken a bit of it before they also grabbed some.

"Cora pass me a wall, those M&M's are looking super yummy with all that frosting," Laura said, holding her hand out.

"Please tell me that I get to eat some of Isaac's candy moat!" John called out as he came back downstairs.

"There is still plenty here, I have to go back into the kitchen though," Melissa told him before stuffing a piece of cookie into her mouth. "Dinner should be ready in about an hour, prepare yourselves."

A few hours later, everyone was gathered in the dining room, large platters of food spread out amongst everyone. They held hands as John said Grace, keeping it short and sweet so that way he didn't stir up too many feelings for the Hales. The next few minutes went by in a flurry of activity as everyone passed food around the table and tried to heap as much as they could onto their plate. Derek sat and listened as the boys told everyone at the table about their awesome plans for the rest of their break, that in the next few days they'd be heading up to the mountains where the real snow was. Derek couldn't help but smile when he recalled the first time he saw the snow and how his parents had bundled him up just in case. He was still pretty small and they weren't sure if he was going to be a wolf or a human and didn't want him getting frostbite.

He could remember himself doing all the things that the boys were talking about, going down hills in a sled, building a snowman (maybe his was more of a pet snowball), and making all kinds of shapes in the snow. Derek held onto these memories, hoping to drown out the despair that he knew would come later tonight; Cora had been right though, coming here did help his sadness, at least a little bit.

"Thanks again for having us, we really appreciate it," Laura told the family as they were putting on their jackets. Of course Cora's arms were weighed down with leftovers and Derek had the spare pie in his hands. But at least this didn't feel like sympathy food, this was theirs because they came out and did their best to celebrate.

"It was nice having you hear, got to have a little bit of adult conversation, not to mention the help in the kitchen," Melissa admitted.

Laura smiled at her and nodded in understanding, she couldn't imagine having to prepare all that food if she had been all alone. Even at the old house, everyone over the age of 8 pitched in some way or another. It was nice to have that, she had missed it over Thanksgiving.

John came over to see them off, book in his hand, "Hey Derek, did you want to take this and finish it? It's a good read, I can't imagine leaving you hanging."

Derek swallowed, "S-sure. I promise to take good care of it." It was weird having someone outside the family be so cordial with him. Everyone thought he was just a brooding teenager, especially after what happened with Paige. It was nice to know that Laura had met this family and they were truly interested in their wellbeing. He reached out and grabbed the book, carefully tucking it under the pie tin so it wouldn't get dirty.

"Bye!" the boys called out in a chorus. They continued to stand there and wave until all the Hales were in the car and pulling away from the curb, only then was John able to corral them back inside.

* * *

><p>AN: I decided to include Derek's blue eyes into this story, since I think they are a huge part of his character. Also I'm using Peter's explanation of when a wolf takes an innocent life, a piece of their soul breaks, causing their eyes to go from a warm color to an icy one. Just for those that might not have understood Cora's comment. At this point, I'm only making Laura aware of what happened with Paige, Cora just knows that a blue-eyed wolf is no longer whole. I don't think Cora would have said that mean of a comment if she knew how exactly Derek had gotten the blue eyes. But keep in mind as well, I'm writing her at about 13 at the time of the fire sooooo she's not having the easiest time right now either.

Clearly Derek is going to have the hardest time dealing with his family's death because he feels directly responsible whereas Laura and Cora are mourning more... regularly. I just didn't want it to come across as they didn't care as much about what had happened- just that it is affecting him more.


	3. Fateful Night

*Present Day, age 16*

"Come on Isaac, tell Stiles that we have a chance this year!" Scott begged.

Stiles sighed, "Scott, no offense but your asthma has kind of put a hamper on your skills. Isaac is the only one here that was good enough to catch Coach's eye and get on first string. Which is quite the ironic turn since he was the last one of us to hit his growth spurt; I can't focus long enough to get good hand-eye coordination going. So we're going Scotty, end of story."

"But I've been practicing with you two all break, I know I've gotten better. Tomorrow is the big day and we need rest, so we can do our best," Scott continued to explain, even though he was putting his shoes on.

"Dude, this is a horribly disfigured body, Dad said the guys in the M.E. office had never seen anything like this. And now another woman is missing! We have to go help find her before she gets attacked by this… thing!" Stiles called out.

Isaac cleared his throat, "Dad doesn't want our help, he said this wasn't a volunteer search, said it was too dangerous and wanted us in the house. Besides, sleep is important to our growing bodies, Mom always says."

Stiles gave his brother a look, "Isaac, do you really want Dad to come home with the look on his face that says he was too late? I hate that look. We can help, we're fit, we kinda know our way around the reservation, we can help!"

"I swear, if I break an ankle out there," Isaac said, sounding more exasperated than angry.

"So are we going or not? We only have a few hours before Mom gets home from her shift," Stiles told them, heading downstairs.

Scott and Isaac looked at each other, knowing Stiles wasn't going to give this up, and they weren't going to let him go alone. They both grabbed their coats and dashed down the stairs, following their brother.

"Mom is going to kill us," Isaac groaned as he locked the door behind him.

"She isn't going to find out, we'll find the missing girl and be home in just a few hours," Stiles told them.

"Yea, we deliver the girl to Dad, get called heroes, but Mom doesn't find out? Right," Scott mumbled, climbing into the jeep.

Stiles laughed, "Well if we do find her and get hailed as heroes, Mom has no reason to be mad."

The ride to the reservation was quiet, until Stiles turned off the jeep, "Okay, I overheard Dad tell the guys that they were started on the East side, working their way West, I figured we could start more South, since I'm sure they are starting near the trail. Come on, we should be able to clear more of the South trails than them."

"You've really thought this out," Isaac stated, climbing out of the vehicle and climbing over the low chain marking the edge of the reservation.

"Well, yea, I listen to a lot of what Dad does, it intrigues me, more than you guys I guess," Stiles shrugged, leading the way.

"Okay, I guess I'll be the one to ask, what happens if we find the animal and not the girl? Or worse, find the dead girl, and the animal in a frenzy?" Scott complained, trailing along behind the others.

A few years ago, since the boys were all teenagers now, Melissa had gone back to work at the hospital. They decided to match her pay and most of the benefits, and with more hours at the hospital, she was making more money for them. So lucky for the boys, they now had a few hours that they were completely unsupervised each day, well when they weren't in school of course. And Stiles was certainly going to use the next 4 hours to their full extent; he was hoping to find the girl and escort her to safety and be back in bed before Mom got there.

"Scott, do you really think an animal is going to attack us when we outnumber it? I mean, one girl out walking trails alone might be attacked yea, but a small group of 3? Unlikely; and the sooner we find her, the sooner our group of 3 becomes 4, even more safety. Let's go, no time to waste," Stiles explained.

Scott humphed and looked at Isaac, whispering, "Can you believe this? This is dangerous, Dad told us to stay home, there is a curfew out."

"When has that ever stopped Stiles before? Come on, the least we can do is keep an eye on him. The sooner we go, the sooner Stiles will get tired and then we head home. It's only 11, we can still get plenty of sleep," Isaac said, falling into line behind Stiles.

Scott made it two hours until he finally complained again, "Stiles, my feet are killing me. This ground is frozen and uneven, and despite what you think of my chances, I'd like to at least try my hardest."

"Yea, I'm hurting too, at least when Coach has us running it's on even ground," Stiles sighed, pausing to lean against a tree. "I guess we can make our way back now, we're getting close to our limit anyways."

"At least our way back will be shorter, since we aren't looking for tracks," Isaac smiled. "Not that any of us know how to track anyways," he added on with e roll of his eyes.

Stiles threw his hands up in the air, "Hey, I was just wanting to help find her before something bad happened. At least I won't have that hanging over my head."

"For all we know, Dad already found her and got her somewhere safe and we're out here wandering in circles," Scott mumbled.

"We aren't wandering in circles, I'm leading us along one of the trails," Stiles scolded. "But you two win, we'll head back and get some sleep."

"Thank goodness," Scott and Isaac both said at the same time.

Stiles just rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands into his hoodie pouch, he didn't understand why they would rather get rest for lacrosse then help save someone. They walked in silence for most of the way back, until Scott panicked and called them to a stop.

"I heard something guys… tell me you heard it too," Scott whispered.

"Yea, I heard it, but it was probably a deer or something," Isaac whispered back.

"If it was an animal, why are we whispering? The more noise we make, won't that scare it away?" Stiles asked, whispering as well.

Isaac turned to look at him, "Well if that's the case, why are you being so quiet too? Let's just keep walking-"

As soon as Isaac spoke, a thunderous noise erupted around them and a herd of deer appeared out of the darkness. Stiles shouted for them to run and broke off to the right; Isaac turned around in a panic, looking for Scott but he was nowhere to be seen. The deer were right on him and Isaac had nowhere to go, so he dove behind the nearest tree and held his breath, waiting for the stampede to run off. Within moments all the hoofed animals were gone, back into the darkness; Isaac picked up his head and listened. Absolute silence, which was very unnerving after the loud stampede that just went by; Isaac got to his feet and was about to call out to his brothers when he heard a deep growl. He froze, too scared to move, and the growl was coming from behind him… He knew that having his back to whatever beast it might be was the worst position to be in.

"Stiles, I swear if that's you right now, trying to trick me, I'll tell Mom about who really broke the bathroom door," Isaac squeaked out. As mean as it might be, he'd much rather this was Stiles behind him than the vicious creature that their Dad was out looking for.

A loud snarl answered him and Isaac ducked his head in fear at the sound; cautiously, since he hadn't been attacked yet, Isaac looked over his shoulder. As soon as he looked at the creature he let out a terrified yell and ran, completely forgetting everything he'd learned about wildlife safety. Everyone knows that a running target becomes prey. As soon as he'd taken a step, he heard the thing behind him rush forward; Isaac dodged behind trees and jumped over small bushes, praying it would lose interest. Pushing himself as hard as he could, he ran back towards the direction of the jeep, if he could get inside, maybe he'd be safe. Suddenly Isaac felt something solid hit his back and he went down, scream ripping from his throat- he was dead… Isaac cried out in pain as he felt a searing pain on his side, as well as claws sliding down his back.

"Let me go!" Isaac yelled, squirming against the pain, trying to free himself.

The words must have startled the creature or something because no sooner had he spoke than the creature leapt away. Isaac lay there in the dark, hoping that the thing was truly gone and not just hiding out of sight. There was a rustling noise off to his left and Isaac whimpered, hands digging in the foliage for some sort of weapon; he'd just got his fingers around a stout branch when the noises stopped, just behind him.

"Isaac? Oh my God, what happened?" Scott asked, kneeling down next to his brother. He fell back on his butt as Isaac swung the branch, catching himself just in time before cracking it against Scott's head.

"Scott? Oh thank goodness it's you. We have to find Stiles and get out of here before that thing comes back!" Isaac whispered. His eyes darted back and forth, hoping to at least spot the creature before it snuck up on them.

"It attacked you? We need to get you to the hospital," Scott whimpered. He helped Isaac stand, and with the branch as a would be support, they started walking again, periodically calling out for Stiles. Thankfully it wasn't long before Stiles answered them, stumbling around in the dark, using his phone as a flashlight.

"There you two are. We shouldn't have split up, stupid freaking deer… You both okay?" Stiles asked.

"Isaac got attacked, we need to get him to the hospital," Scott answered, wheezing slightly.

Isaac shook his head," No, we have stuff at home. Let's at least see how bad it is before we let Mom and Dad know we were out here." As he spoke he reached into Scott's pocket and pulled out his inhaler, "Use it Scott, we're all together now."

Scott nodded his head and took a few puffs while Stiles came forward and helped to support Isaac. The three of them hurried to the jeep and helped Isaac climb into the back, so he could lie down on his side.

"Just hang in there, we'll get you cleaned up," Stiles promised. He smiled ruefully, that was one of the perks of having an over protective Sheriff for a father and a nurse as a mother. Plus Scott worked at the vet clinic, so between the three of them, there weren't too many injuries that they didn't know how to fix. In theory at least… As soon as everyone was in, Stiles drove as fast as he dared to get them back home.

"Gah, my back hurts like Hell!" Isaac complained as he maneuvered his way out of the back seat. "Looks like I might not make first string with this injury, so you can take my place Scotty," Isaac smiled.

Scott shook his head, "I don't want the spot if I got it because our dumbass decisions got you hurt."

"Yea, I'm sorry Isaac… I didn't think this would happen," Stiles mumbled quietly as he unlocked the front door.

"Well I'm alive still so, it's fine. I agreed to go out there with you, I knew the risks. None of knew we'd get spilt up by a stampede," Isaac argued. He didn't want either of them to blame themselves for this; he'd be fine.

He tried to keep his wincing to a minimum as the two helped him out of his torn jacket, shirt, and dirty jeans. Scott started to gather all of their first aid kits as Stiles got the shower to a nice temperature.

"In ya go, I'll help you clean your back," Stiles ordered, stripping down to his boxers. "Wow, that looks all bad Bro, this is going to hurt a bit," he muttered as he helped Isaac step into the warm stream of water.

"Oh then it looks as bad as it feels? Oh, the water feels good at least. Oww!" Isaac hissed as Stiles started carefully cleaning the scratches.

Stiles winced, "Sorry, trying to be gentle."

"Naw, I'd rather they get cleaned than get babied," Isaac admitted. Best to just grit his teeth and get it over with; he closed his eyes and focused on the warm water instead of the nagging pain. It took a few minutes before Stiles claimed to be done, shutting off the water and handing him a towel.

"Now it's my turn," Scott offered, holding up the large red bag of medical supplies.

Isaac nodded his head and wrapped the towel around his waist, sitting backwards on the toilet so Scott could get a good look at everything. Thankfully Scott had real gentle hands and he was able to apply the antiseptic and bandages with minimal wincing from his patient. Then there was a pause when they got to the large bite mark on his side.

"Dude, I don't want to be a downer but… you should get tested for rabies or something, I mean that was a wild animal," Scott mentioned.

"Yea but they did tests on the body they already found… No rabies," Isaac countered.

Stiles brightened at the news, "Hey yea, they did at least confirm that whatever is out there doing this doesn't have rabies."

"Which firstly means that whatever is doing this, isn't insane- it isn't rabies-induced, so we have no idea why it mauled that poor woman. Secondly, we have no idea if Isaac was attacked by the same thing, this could a completely different wild animal," Scott explained.

Stiles gave him a look, "I thought you didn't want to be a downer… Seriously, two different creatures out there randomly attacking people? You heard what everyone is saying, most wild animals don't attack people, they go out of their way to avoid us. Except maybe bears and mountain lions- which Deaton ruled out based on the attack patterns."

"And whatever the hell attacked me wasn't either of those… it- it was gnarly looking, and had mean red eyes. Like, bright, glow-y red eyes. I couldn't tell you what it was, besides large and scary," Isaac admitted as Scott put the last bandage on. "Although, when it growled at me… it sounded like a dog… like a really large dog. Not like a cat growl, you know? Maybe a wolf or something?"

"It would be rare for a lone wolf to just… attack like that. Although they can get large, I've never heard of any having red eyes," Scott pondered.

"We can look into it in the morning, but for now, we need to get rid of all the evidence and pretend to be sleeping, Mom should be home soon," Stiles told them.

Isaac snorted, then gestured to himself and Stiles, "How exactly do we hide wet boxers? I mean, you know that will get all gross if we hide them in the laundry basket."

"Easy, we toss them, and some other clothes into the dryer. Then they can just be a load of clothes that got cleaned," Stiles explained, already heading out of the bathroom.

Scott and Isaac looked at each other, that was actually a good idea- he was extremely smart when he applied himself. It was just too bad for most of their teachers that school subjects bored him.

"Thanks for patching me up," Isaac offered.

"Of course, what are brothers for?" Scott smiled.

After he'd carefully put on some pajamas and cleaned up the bathroom, Isaac headed into Stiles's room, with his pillow. They had told their parents that they'd attempt to sleep in their own beds more, but tonight was going to be an exception- getting mauled by a wild animal had that effect. Isaac smiled, Stiles and Scott had already set their little nest up, comic books strewn about on the floor to make it look like they'd just stayed up late reading. The three of them easily climbed under the covers and got comfortable, the loss of adrenaline pulling them into sleep fairly quickly; they were all curled up together, fast asleep when Melissa came home and checked on them.

*Thursday Morning*

The boys all groaned when their phones went off, Scott being the first to respond and roll out from under the warm covers. He was also the only one really stoked to be going back to school today, for the lacrosse try-outs. Stiles didn't quite understand why, they were almost guaranteed a spot since they had played last year, as long as the roster didn't completely fill up but, they were probably going to be riding the bench. And since Isaac was hurt he probably wasn't going to do- Isaac!

Stiles shot up into a sitting position and turned to look at Isaac, "Dude, how are you feeling, did you sleep okay? How much pain are you in?"

Isaac grumbled and opened his eyes at the barrage of questions, "I actually feel okay, but I haven't tried to move yet. But I slept just fine so none of my moving woke me up."

Both Scott and Stiles watched as he sat up slowly and stretched, taking off his shirt so they could inspect the bandages. So far everything looked good, not much blood had soaked through the bandaging, so that meant he hadn't bled a lot while they were sleeping. Stiles reached over and was just about to peel off one of the bandages on Isaac's back when Scott stopped him.

"Maybe we should go into the bathroom, just in case Mom is up and decides to come check on us. If we're in there she won't come in, just knock and see how we are."

The other two nodded and Isaac threw his shirt back on and the three of them went into the bathroom. Scott turned on the shower for background noise while Stiles started peeling off the white squares.

"Dude… Scott, come here," Stiles called out, voice full of confusion.

"Why, how bad is i- whoa, what?"

Isaac tilted his head and tried to get a peek at his back, "What, is it horribly infected? I don't feel anything, does that mean it's super bad? Guys, say something!"

Stiles and Scott didn't answer, instead they mutely turned him so his back was facing the mirror, allowing Isaac to look at the reflection. His jaw dropped as he finally turned his gaze to see the damage- there was none. His back was smooth, no large gashes, no healing tissue, not even a scar. "What the hell is going on?"

Isaac tore his gaze from the mirror and hurriedly ripped of the last bandage- revealing more smooth skin. No bite mark either. "Last night really happened, right? I mean, I didn't have just a vivid nightmare or anything?"

"I've never heard of a nightmare so vivid that three people share it. We all saw how torn up you were last night. We didn't imagine that," Scott answered, eyes still searching for any sign if the previous injuries.

Stiles was the first to recover, clearing his throat, "Maybe, we did kind of imagine it. I mean, we were all tired and stressed out over this animal attack thing. What if we remember the wounds as more serious than they were?"

Scott rolled his eyes, "Dude, those were some serious claw marks on his back, what else do you think we might have seen?"

Stiles threw his hands up in exasperation, "I don't know, maybe he was jumped on my some small animal and fell into a bush or something. They could have been branch scratches or something!"

"Right, branches… they didn't feel like branches Stiles. And even if they were, what the hell happened to the bite mark? No tree is going to leave a mark like that!" Isaac complained as he undressed further.

"Besides, even if they were all just branch marks, they would be scarred up right now. No way they would have healed overnight and not left a mark. There is still blood on the bandages for goodness sake!" Scott tacked on.

"Ok, point made," Stiles groaned. "I never claimed to have a concrete answer, I was just throwing something else out there. What ideas do you have then, let's hear it."

"I don't have any idea, I'm completely bewildered in all honesty. Isaac was attacked last night, we all saw the proof, and now there is nothing. It's too weird. Get in the shower and don't use up all the hot water, I'll go get clothes."

"Yea, okay," Stiles muttered, quickly undressing and hopping in behind Isaac.

This was another part of their morning routine that their parents thought was a bit weird- they usually showered together. The boys argued that it saved time if at least two of them showered at once (now that they were 16, the three of them definitely weren't going to fit) and the third brother would go pick out the day's outfits. It was all to save time and hot water, really, and they traded off who showered first every day. Plus, they already all showered together after practice and stuff, so it wasn't like it was weird to be around each other while naked. Over the years they'd gotten _really_ good at avoiding awkward touches and bumps, as well as keeping eyes averted at all times.

"I'm done Scott," Isaac called out, wrapping a towel around himself. Since he'd gotten in first, he finished before Stiles did, so he might as well let Scott start showering and he'd go get started on scrounging up some breakfast. On the way to his room, Isaac continued to run his hand over his side, where he'd been bitten. There was no way he'd imagined that attack, or those eyes- he'd never forget those. With a slight shake to clear his head, he went into his room and quickly got dressed before heading downstairs. By the time he'd picked out something for them to eat and was preparing it, Stiles had joined him in the kitchen.

"We have English muffins?" Stiles asked.

"Yea, Mom went to the store the other day and I had put them on the list," the other teen replied.

"Sweet!"

Isaac smiled as he continued to spread some butter on the toasted muffins; it hadn't been long ago that the boys had found out these made for a quick and easy breakfast. Especially if you also had some cereal with it. The two of them had just finished getting everything on the table when Scott joined them.

"So, are you two excited for tryouts yet?" Scott asked.

Stiles shook his head, "Nope. I mean, I'm going to try hard but I'm on Coach's shit list and we all know it."

"I hope I don't have some sort of relapse during practice. I feel fine but, this is still too weird, what if something happens during school," voiced Isaac, picking at his cereal.

"Well check in on you all day, and if anything comes up, text us," Stiles offered immediately. "If anything happens at all, I'll drive you to the doctor."

Isaac smiled in thanks, "I hope it won't come to that, but at least I know you're taking this as seriously as I am… last night was weird."

"I still think it's totally stupid that Stiles and I got put into almost identical classes and then we only have like… 1 class with Isaac," Scott pouted suddenly.

"I have two with him," Stiles corrected.

Isaac shrugged, "That's life, classes are a complete lottery, although it is a little weird. Maybe they just think Stiles needs a baby-sitter."

Stiles threw a small piece of muffin at him and then flipped him off, causing the other two to laugh. After breakfast they all gathered up their bags and went off to school, although the entire ride there was filled with Scott going over the plays.

*School*

"Well, even if Isaac doesn't share most of our classes, at least we managed to get lockers all next to each other this year," Scott mentioned.

"Yea, that is nice that we found space together like this on our day of registration. Sophomores barely get better lockers than Freshman but next year we're Juniors so maybe we can get lockers on the 2nd floor," Stiles agreed.

Isaac laughed, "You're only saying that because most of your classes are on the 2nd floor this year, but 3 of mine are on this floor. Who knows what our classes will be next year."

Before Stiles could protest, the bell rang, signaling everyone to class, Scott leading the way.

* * *

><p>AN: Finally in the present day! And yes, I made Isaac the first one bit because of the storyline ideas I have. I promise things will still be interesting, but no Scott Werewolf at this time. I'll give you a spoiler and say that I am planning on making him one in the future though.

I cut this chapter a bit short because I'm not 100% sure how much detail I'm going to put in the class section and I didn't want to cut the school day in half, or the lacrosse tryouts. Let me know what you think =)


	4. Exciting First Day Back

*First Period English 2*

Isaac was sitting on Scott's right, in the middle of the class, tapping his pencil against his notebook as he waited for Miss Thompson to finish taking roll and start class. Suddenly he could hear someone talking about not having a pencil, but no one responded. Slowly he looked around the class, wondering who it was that needed the pencil but he didn't see anyone, and then the girl kept talking without Isaac having heard a response at all. Did that mean a phone conversation? Who the hell was brave enough to pull out a phone in class? Isaac looked around once more but none of the girls were on their phones, so… who was he hearing?

He turned to Scott asking if he knew who needed a pencil but his brother just shrugged and looked confused. As he started to turn back to his own desk, someone outside the window caught his eye. She was sitting on one of the benches out front and had her cell phone to her ear as she dug through her bag. As he stared at her, he heard more of her conversation, apparently with her Mom.

"Dude, Isaac, what are you staring at?" Stiles whispered from behind him. At his voice, Scott also turned to see what was up.

Isaac pointed out the window with his chin, "I just heard that girl out there tell her Mom that she didn't have a pencil, and that it wasn't a great start to her morning."

Scott turned and looked out the window, small smile coming to his cheeks, Stiles on the other hand focused on the absurdity of Isaac's statement.

"You heard her? Dude, she's outside!" Stiles hissed in disbelief.

"Now she's saying good-bye to her Mom because the vice principal is coming to show her to her first class," was all Isaac whispered back, voice just disbelieving.

The three of them watched as, just a moment later, Mr. Nash walked into sight and welcomed the girl. Both of his brothers turned to gape at Isaac but Isaac could do nothing but shrug at them. All three of them jumped with Miss Thompson cleared her throat and began teaching, her students all taking notes. A few minutes later the door opened and Mr. Nash came in, the girl following right behind him.

"Sorry to interrupt Miss Thompson, but I have a new student for you."

"No worries, we only just started, come on in and have a seat Miss?"

"Allison, I'm Allison Argent," the girl introduced.

"Nice to meet you, there is an open seat behind Scott," Miss Thompson offered, pointed in the boy's direction.

Allison nodded her head and quickly sat, hoping that the staring would stop when the lesson started up again. She pulled out her notebook and sighed, wondering if anyone wanted to lend the new girl a pencil… But just then the boy in front of her turned around and offered her one.

"How-? Thanks, can I borrow it all day?" She asked, she didn't want him to think he was a pencil stealer.

"Yea, that's cool," he responded with a smile.

Allison smiled back shyly and ducked her head, maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

*Second Period Biology*

"Dude, Allison is so pretty, do you think maybe she'd go on a date with me?" Scott questioned as soon as they sat down.

Stiles, who was sitting in front of Scott now, thumped his head on his desk. Leave it to Scott to get caught up with a girl the moment he saw her. All he did was pass her a pencil! Stiles told him as much.

"Dude, you have no room to judge!" Scott snorted. "I have two words for you, Lydia Martin!"

"Dude, that is different and you know it! Lydia, she's a queen!"

Scott kicked his brother's chair, "Allison is too!"

"A queen wouldn't have come to school without a pencil," Stiles countered.

"Everyone is entitled to having a bad first day, clearly her family just moved here. I can tell though, she's perfect!" Scott was not to be swayed on the subject.

Stiles tuned him out though and ended up staring at Lydia, who was a few rows in front of him. He flashed back to when he first met her.

*3rd grade*

**Age 8:** "You boys be good okay, Dad will be picking you three up," Melissa told them. It felt good to be able to say that now- they'd married just before the end of summer break and John had officially adopted her two boys and her Stiles. They were still getting used to it though so Stiles was yet to call her Mom.

"We'll be good, I promise," Isaac told her as he waved.

Melissa waited until the three of them were in the building before driving off, then she went off to perform a house-call. As soon as the boys were in, Stiles pulled his brothers forward, eager to get to class.

"Come on, we have to find the best seats!" he cried out.

Scott rolled his eyes, "I can't believe you're excited for school, I thought you hated school?"

"I hated our teacher, but some of the older kids told me that Miss Barnes was awesome, so I want to see for myself!"

The boys ran into their new classroom and looked around, seeing all the cool new posters set up on the walls. Even better, the teacher felt like they had outgrown the need for colored kiddie seats, now they had the regular blue seats like the other classes. They were on their way to being Big Kids finally! Suddenly Stiles let out a squeak and squeezed Scott's hand.

"Ow, what was that for?" Scott pouted as he yanked his hand away.

"She's beautiful," Stiles whispered in awe, his eyes wide and glazed over. "She must be a Princess or something… no, she's a Queen!"

Isaac turned and looked at him, assuming that Stiles was talking about their teacher, "Dude, she's OLD!"

"No she isn't, she's just perfect!" Stiles said.

Isaac peered back around at the teacher and made a face, which Stiles saw of course. "Ew, I'm not talking about Miss Barnes dummy, I'm talking about her!"

Scott and Isaac both looked to where Stiles was pointing, immediately spotting the girl he was infatuated with. Across the room was a girl with long, beautiful red hair, the loose curls framing her face.

"Look at her eyes, they are so brown and pretty," Stiles mumbled.

"Hey, are my eyes pretty Stiles? I have brown eyes too," Scott teased, fluttering his eyes at the taller boy.

"Ew, no, you have poopy brown eyes, she- she has a wonderful golden-honey kinda brown," Stiles said, happy to explain the difference.

Isaac couldn't help but laugh, "Scott doesn't have poopy brown eyes, they are more like coffee, and since Miss Melissa and the Sheriff love coffee, that means coffee must be awesome."

"Well I know who my favorite brother is!" Scott huffed, crossing his arms.

"Don't be whiny! You should be happy I don't find your eyes pretty, I can't be in love with my brother like that. But her, I'm in love with her!" Stiles explained.

The boys stood around as Miss Barnes called the class to order and asked them all to find seats. Stiles held his brothers back, telling them he wanted to see where the girl sat first, that way they could sit near her. After snagging a chair at the table right behind her, Miss Barnes started calling roll, and that's when he found out her name was Lydia- a beautiful name for his new Queen.

*Present Day, Second Period Biology*

"All these years and she still doesn't even know I exist," Stiles sighed.

"See, at least Allison knows I exist, she borrowed a pencil from me."

Stiles rolled his eyes and started taking notes, all it meant was he had to step up his game. He had learned early on that Lydia was smart, hell- she was super intelligent. But, she was also… if he was honest, slightly superficial and cared a lot about looks and popularity… And being a third string lacrosse player didn't exactly get you invited to the cool kids' parties. Maybe Scott was right, maybe he should give the try-outs today his all. If he could get some time on the field, Lydia would probably notice him then.

*Second Period World History*

Isaac took his usual seat, sighing as he pulled out his notebook, history usually was okay, but he knew that they were starting African history this semester. Normally that wouldn't be bad but… he'd heard from Boyd that his cousin believed Westover to be a little… well, whitewashed in his teachings. If they were going to be learning about the various countries of Africa, he'd want to actually learn about them, not just what some crappy American history book had to say about them.

"Hey Isaac," he heard from his right. He turned and smiled at Erica, he'd gotten to know both her and Boyd over the course of the year. They shared quite a few classes after all, and since he didn't have Scott or Stiles with him for most of the day, he liked having a few friends to talk with.

"Hey Erica, how are you feeling today?" he asked.

She shrugged noncommittally and Isaac took that to mean she wasn't feeling her best today. On her other side, closest to the wall, Boyd leaned forward to frown at Isaac- apparently he took the same meaning from Erica's silent answer. Between them Erica crossed her arms and slouched a bit in her seat, she hated when they worried about her. It was all because of that one stupid video that got put up on the internet… she couldn't believe that some girl had thought her seizure was hilarious and recorded it when she was on the bathroom floor. Thankfully the teachers had talked the girl into taking down the video but the damage had been done, most of the kids in her year knew her face now. Erica was just happy that Isaac and Boyd refused to watch the video and hadn't said anything to her about it other than it was awful that someone would violate her like that. She was glad that she'd become friends with the both of them, but she had known Boyd a bit longer. They used to always sit outside for lunch their Freshman year and eventually he came up to her and asked if they could share a table.

Isaac had luckily just been assigned into their group, along with another lacrosse player named Adam. It took him forever to crack Erica and Boyd but eventually they had warmed up to him before they completed the project. Erica had been so quiet and subdued, like she wasn't used to someone wanting to get to know her. And Boyd had seen that Isaac was being genuine and wanting to become her friend, so he opened up as well. The funniest part was when the four of them got together at his house after school to work on the project, Erica got all flustered every time Stiles walked by. It had taken most of the first semester after that before he finally got her to admit she had a crush on him. But he had to promise not to tell, which of course he wouldn't. Although he did try to get the two of them to sit with him and his brothers at lunch; he hadn't been unsuccessful thus far.

Before they could push any further about how she was feeling, Mr. Westover started class by handing out a packet. "We're starting a new section today, so here is your usual packet, answer as many as the questions as you can."

Isaac waited until the girl in front of him, Ran, turned and passed him the packet; Mr. Westover had this habit of showing them just how much they'd learned. At the end of the section, he'd give them the same packet to fill out again, only hopefully you'd be able to answer more of the questions.

"Thanks," Isaac said as he grabbed the small stack. But Ran just gave him the slightest lift of her eyebrows in response. As he took one and then passed the rest behind him he turned and gave Erica a questioning look. He'd sat behind her all year and still hadn't managed to get a word out of her, not in math class either.

Erica had seen the lack of response and shrugged at her friend; at least it wasn't just Isaac she wasn't keen on talking to. Erica hadn't heard her say a word to anyone all year. For some reason though, it bothered Isaac- but he was a sweet guy that wanted to make friends with everyone. Almost everyone, Erica had heard him rant about Jackson enough to know he would never be on Isaac's buddy list. She couldn't help but smile to herself though when she heard Isaac sigh, he wasn't giving up yet. Instead of saying anything, Erica just picked up her pencil and started reading through the packet.

*Third Period Chemistry*

Erica sighed as she waved Isaac and Boyd good-bye outside of Chem class, those two also happened to have Econ together. But she couldn't feel too bad she reminded herself as she took her seat- directly behind Stiles. Erica smiled to herself as she pulled out her book, this was her only class with Stiles so she felt really lucky that she got placed behind him. That way she could study him without others noticing that she wasn't looking at Harris. Plus Scott was her tablemate, so sometimes Stiles would turn back to her table and she'd get to see his face.

Class started like it usually did, Harris telling them his plan for the semester and then also finding a way to get a barb in at Stiles's and Scott's expense. Then it was time to learn, Harris took his class very seriously, and his teaching method was just so boring… so no one could really blame her when she spent most of her time watching Stiles's fingers tap out a hectic rhythm on the desk instead of taking the best notes. She was passing the class so it didn't matter that much. About halfway through class, the worst thing happened, she got a very distinct metallic taste in her mouth.

"Not now," she whimpered quietly. She raised her hand, already she could feel the tingling in her fingertips as well. The tingling increased as she held her hand up, she had maybe 30 more seconds to get out in the hall at least. But Mr. Harris was of course facing the board.

"Excuse me, Mr. Harris, can I go to the bathroom?" she asked, despite not being called on.

Harris sighed, without turning around, "No, Mr. Sanders isn't back yet. You'll have to wait."

"But this is an emergency," Erica cried out, putting her hand down before anyone else noticed the tremors. The taste in her mouth was stronger now.

This time Harris turned around and fixed her with a disapproving glare, "I said you'll have to wait Miss Reyes."

Erica whimpered and tried to take a deep breath; Stiles heard her and spun around to see what was wrong, just in time to see her fall out of her chair and onto the floor. Within moments Stiles and Scott were out of their seats and kneeling next to her, Stiles ripping off his hoodie to put under her head.

"Get her away from the desk, so she doesn't kick it," Scott ordered.

Stiles complied and carefully moved Erica further away from the desk and chair while Scott made sure she was still able to breathe. The seizure lasted maybe a minute before Erica's eyes came back into focus, her breathing a little labored.

"Hey, are you breathing okay?" Stiles asked quietly.

Erica turned and buried her face in the fabric under her head but nodded her head, yea… she was just fine- not.

"Mr. Stilinski, why don't you take her to the nurse, Scott, stay here and take notes, I won't allow both of you to wander the halls unsupervised. And at least this way Stilinski won't disturb the class," Harris said from over Stiles's shoulder. With that he turned and walked back to the front of class. "I expect the rest of you to be paying attention to me, not to Miss Reyes, class is still in session."

"Prick," Stiles muttereded as he helped Erica to her feet. Then he repacked her stuff and slung her bag over his shoulder. "Come on, let's get you to the nurse."

Erica let herself be led out of the classroom, her face hidden in his shoulder to ignore all the stares she was probably getting. If only Mr. Harris hadn't been so strict, she could have gone out into the hall, then no one would have seen it.

"Hey, you okay? You're looking kind of pale, you aren't going to have another one right? I read that back-to-back seizures are bad…" Stiles inquired.

"No, I'm fine… well okay, I'm not fine. But no, I'm not going to have a second seizure. At least not right now. That's never happened to me," Erica explained, looking down at the floor.

Stiles looked down at the girl under his arm, "Hey… this is nothing to be ashamed of you know… It's not like you can control this. You tried to get excused and Mr. Harris said no."

"I just hate that other people think it's funny and try to record it!" Erica cried out. "That first video got taken down, and since then I've had 2 more seizures at school. None of them have been posted, but that doesn't mean they haven't been recorded and sent out as emails instead!"

"That's complete bullshit by the way. Nothing about this is funny, I'm sorry that's happened to you. When I was younger, I had a panic attack at school and all the other kids laughed at me. I'm sure if cell phones had been a thing back then I'd be all over the internet too. The kids avoided me for awhile, like the attacks were contagious or something. That's not how we should treat people with disorders."

They slowly navigated the stairs and then he helped her into the nurse's office, "Hey, Nurse Hannah? Erica had a seizure in class."

"Oh my, Erica, you haven't missed a dose of your medicine have you?" the nurse asked, helping Erica into one of the cots.

"No, but over break I've had more seizures than normal. I have an appointment with my doctor, but not for three more days," Erica revealed glumly.

"Well I'll take care of you, did you need a pass Stiles?"

"Might as well, just in case another teacher sees me and doesn't believe me," Stiles replied. He'd seen the nurse often enough for her to recognize him on sight, something that seemed to comfort Erica. Maybe it was because she knew now that he spent a lot of time here too. "Bye Erica… Did you want me to tell anyone that you're here? Or are you going home?"

"No, I-I'm going to stay. I'm not going to let them chase me off. Unless of course I have another one… then I have to go to the hospital. If.. If you see Boyd, can you tell him?"

"Yea, I'll do that. Do you know what class he has? I'll look for him as soon as the bell rings," Stiles offered.

Erica smiled at him, "He's in Econ right now, um, with your brother."

"Oh, is it okay if I text him then, to at least tell Boyd I'm looking for him. I… I don't want to accidentally tell Isaac something you don't want him to know."

"You can tell Isaac, he's my friend too," Erica answered.

Stiles nodded his head and then said good-bye, pulling out his phone to text his brother on the way back to the second floor. Since Erica told him he could tell, he figured he might as well not hide it from Isaac, since he was friends with her too.

_S: Dude… I got some bad news…  
>I: why are you txting in Chem? Harris is going to kill you<br>S: Because um, well I'm not in class. I'm supposed to tell Boyd, and you too, Erica had a seizure in class. I took her to the nurse  
>I: What? I'll tell him, we'll be there to see her as soon as we get out<em>

Stiles sighed sadly and went back into class, it wasn't fair that a sweet girl like Erica had to go through this. It wasn't until then that he realized Erica had held onto his hoodie, but maybe it would give her some kind of strength.

*Lunch*

Isaac and Boyd tore out of class as soon as the bell rang, practically running Coach Finstock over. They tumbled into the nurse's office and immediately spotted Erica laying on the cot closest to them.

"Erica, how bad was it?" Boyd inquired, sitting next to her.

"It was about a minute… I fell out of my chair in front of everyone. Harris wouldn't let me go to the bathroom," Erica mumbled.

"He didn't let you go to the bathroom?" Isaac repeated, anger seeping into his voice.

Erica nodded sadly, "One of the other students was out and he's strict about only one student out of class at a time. No exceptions."

"What happened then?" Boyd asked, rubbing small circles along her back.

"I'm… I'm not 100% I didn't lose consciousness but, I mean, I was a bit preoccupied. But, Scott and S-Stiles were both there, doing their best to help me. Stiles is the one that walked me here," Erica admitted, hands tangling in said boy's red hoodie. "I didn't really get to tell him thanks… he didn't laugh at me or act weird."

Isaac cracked a smile, "Yea, Stiles is good like that. He knows what it's like to be treated different."

Erica looked up at Isaac, eyes wide, "He told me that, about what happened in grade school. Kids are cruel."

Isaac nodded his head, although he was a bit surprised his brother had shared that memory with her. Stiles hated reminding people about his anxiety attacks, even if it's been a few years since he's had one.

"Hey Nurse Hannah, is it okay for Erica to head to lunch now?" Boyd wondered. Erica didn't usually want to eat so soon after a seizure, but he knew she also didn't want to be sitting here in the nurse's office.

"Well, you're going to be with her right Boyd?" she asked in turn.

"I'll be with her for lunch and then 4th period, but we have different 5th period classes."

Nurse Hannah came looked Erica over one more time, "She'll be fine by then, if nothing happens before that."

Erica quietly thanked the nurse and slid off the cot, letting her two friends lead her out of the office. "Do… Isaac, do you think Stiles would get mad if I borrowed this? At least until after school?"

He looked down at her and saw she was holding up the red sweatshirt, a small flush to her cheeks. "No, he won't mind," Isaac answered, a slight smile on his face.

Isaac pulled Erica into a hug before he made his way into the cafeteria while Boyd and Erica went to their usual table outside. As he entered he winced, wow, everyone was talking super loud today- they needed to calm down a bit. He dropped down between both of his brothers and put his head on the table, hands covering his ears.

"Dude, you got a headache or something?" Scott asked.

"No, but I will soon if all these people don't tone it down a tad, why are they talking so loud?" Isaac grumbled.

Stiles and Scott looked at each other, confused; it wasn't really louder today than any other day. Must be the start of a migraine or something, he was prone to some bad ones every once in awhile.

"Want some Advil or something? I got some in my locker," Stiles offered.

Isaac sat up and shook his head, "Naw, I'll get through it." Isaac stole a few fries off of Scott's tray and closed his eyes, trying to muffle to voices around him.

"Oh my god, Allison is sitting with Lydia!" Scott declared suddenly, causing Isaac to wince again.

"What? Oh man, she's so lucky! First day here and already she's friends with Lydia. Why must beautiful people flock together? Now you really don't have a chance dude, Lydia won't let her come within 10 feet of us," Stiles complained.

"Says you, she had no problem talking with me in English today. I just got to play it cool," Scott countered. His brothers just laughed at him, Scott shrugged, "I can play it cool if I need to! Maybe… Can't hurt to try right?"

*Lydia's Table*

"Jackson, meet my new best friend, Allison Argent. She just moved into Beacon Hills over break," Lydia introduced as she pulled the brunette down next to her.

Jackson glanced up from his crappy lunch and looked her over, "Hi, Jackson, captain of the lacrosse team and the swim team. We have second together right?"

"Isn't my boyfriend the best," Lydia gushed, stressing the word boyfriend and fixing Jackson with a pointed stare. Seriously, sometimes he acted like he didn't want to be dating her, especially when he checked out other girls like that.

"Yea, nice to officially meet you," Allison returned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He hadn't said anything to her but had offered her a flirty smile in Geometry and now she finds out he's Lydia's boyfriend, great.

"That's Danny, Jackson's best friend, goalie on the team, band geek, gay," Lydia continued to introduce. "Next to him is Dylan, his girlfriend Caitlin- they've been together for 3 years now, then we have Adam, a Junior and the team sweetheart. And finishing up the table is Jordan and Cory- Jordan is just a Freshman but he's shown a lot of promise so Jackson lets him sit with us. Cory, he's here because Tyler got himself on Jackson's bad side and got booted to the secondary table."

Allison looked over Jackson's shoulder, where Lydia was pointing to another table; she could tell that most of the boys at this table were close friends as well. Looks like the lacrosse team kept things to themselves, at least the older players. There was no way the entire team fit at two tables, so the new players, or maybe the 'losers,' had to find their own friends.

"Lydia, I doubt Allison needed to know I was gay, that's not really a key part of my personality or anything," Danny said, surprised at the introduction. "The way you said it makes me sound super flamboyant or something, so she has to prepare herself."

Lydia smiled, "Nonsense, that's not what I meant at all. You're one of my good friends, and not just because you're my boyfriend's best friend. If Allison might have an issue with homosexuals, I'd want to know sooner than later."

Allison flushed and looked around the table, "No, I don't, I'm uh, perfectly fine with that." Why would she have a problem with that? After all, she was bisexual, but well, she didn't really want to tell them that just yet.

"Good, then no problem," Lydia called out.

Allison offered an apologetic smile to Danny, even if he was openly gay with the others at the table, it must be annoying to get introduced like that to some new girl. Hence why she didn't exactly feel comfortable opening up about her own sexuality just yet. Danny smiled back at her, knowing it wasn't her fault- Lydia would do as Lydia pleased. And to him, her explanation made sense so he couldn't really be mad at her for that.

*Outside*

"Boyd, I'm worried about my seizures, I feel like they are getting worse, and they make me feel like a freak!" Erica complained. She had put on the hoodie and was slumped over the table, trying to make herself small.

Boyd sighed heavily, not really having anything to say to her that could cheer her up; they'd had this conversation a few times before. "Hopefully this time the doctor will find the right medicine for you. And at least now you know that Stiles isn't like the other kids that are laughing at you."

Erica hugged the sweatshirt closer to her, "I never thought he would, Stiles is a nice guy. I'm just glad he didn't completely freak out. God, that was so embarrassing, having an episode like that in the _only_ class I share with him! Not before or after- life hates me."

Boyd pulled his friend into a one-armed hug, "Life doesn't hate you, it's just showing you that maybe you should get to know Stiles. Obviously he won't run away from you because of your epilepsy."

"We aren't even really friends, who knows how he really feels about my epilepsy. For all we know he's in there saying a silent prayer that he and his brothers don't have it." Erica pulled the hood up over her messy blonde hair and lay forward onto the table once more.

* * *

><p>AN: Ok, went from following just the boys to a bunch of different characters! Yay! I'm adding a few OC's to this story, but only one major one, Ran. Other than her, I'm trying to add in some lacrosse players and give them at least a little history, so you aren't all reading about the same few all the time. This gives me a few different guys to mention and whatnot. Ran on the other hand, is going to serve a bigger role in the story, but I'm slowly introducing her. For those of you that have read my story Newcomers, you'll already be familiar with Ran's character. She's pretty much going to be the same, except for the fact she won't be a mini-Werewolf XD I'm thinking of keeping her Human in this fic. I just like her character and I'm trying to incorporate more, diverse things into my writing and Ran (for those that don't know yet, a bit of a spoiler) is someone who communicates via ASL. She isn't deaf or mute, but her parents are deaf and don't speak, so Ran grew up in a quiet home.

Also, I'm not 100% on who will be dating who just yet. I like the idea of Stiles/Erica, since I usually write Boyd/Erica, I was thinking of mixing it up a bit. I like Stydia pairings, but I also love the idea of Erica/Stiles, so I'm leaning in that direction, sorry to all the Stydia fans. Plus, I made Allison Bi in this fic, and I'm not sure where I'm going to take that just yet. Please feel free to review and let me know your thoughts, I'm always open to discussion!


	5. Rage

*Fourth Period English 3*

Lydia took her usual seat, front and center, ready to start class; she had been happy when Ms. Morrell had jumped her up to the next level of English, and Miss McCurdy had them reading interesting books, not boring ones. An even bigger plus was, she was the only Sophomore in the class, so she didn't have to worry about Jackson or his friends seeing how much she applied herself. While there were Upperclassmen on the team, she lucked out and didn't have any of them in classes with her.

"Okay class, let's start off this semester on the right foot, here are your tests from last semester. The ones I promised to get back to you all. Note to self, don't make the tests so long and they'll be easier to grade."

The class cheered, hoping this meant that the tests would be shorter now- as it was, they had to push themselves to answer the questions adequately enough.

Miss McCurdy gave her students a scary smile, "Instead that just means we'll have more tests that are shorter!" The students groaned in unison. "I don't know why that's a bad thing, more tests means they won't be weighed as heavily, and those are even fewer days for us to read in class. I know how all of you just love reading aloud to each other. Or, if you prefer, we can just write more essays instead?"

Many of the students called out for more tests, at least those they could do in class period, writing essays took up a lot more time! Lydia rolled her eyes, leave it to them to rather regurgitate information than actually exercise their brains for a paper. As long as you read the book and followed along with the class discussions you would get a passing grade on the tests. Only students like her actually put thought and interpretation into their answers and got the high grades.

"What, 98%? I knew I should have gone into more detail about the ties of familial love," Lydia mumbled to herself as she looked over her test on Kindred. Next to her she heard a slight huff of laughter, causing her to look up at her neighbor. Beside her, Ran was proudly holding up her test, showing off a neat 100%. "Ugh, this is the second time you've bested me on a test! Soak it up now, because it won't happen again!"

Ran just slung her long black hair over her shoulder and continued to read through Miss McCurdy's remarks. It wasn't her fault that the Sophomore wanted to turn this into a competition; as it was, Lydia had only gotten a better score than her once. Every other time they both got 100%, it was refreshing to know that there were other students in class that wanted to learn.

Lydia narrowed her eyes, not liking the smug look on the girl's face; it was bad enough that they were competing in the beauty department. Ran's natural Asian features, and small spattering of freckles, intrigued the boys in class, more than Lydia's own fair skin. Lydia knew they were fetishizing her looks though, like she was something exotic, and that wasn't Ran's fault. Really, you couldn't compare two girls like them, because as beautiful as Lydia knew she was, she was also able to admit that Ran was breath-taking, just with different features. Plus, she'd never be comfortable in coming to school with no make-up like her classmate, her make-up made her feel powerful. Lydia sighed and tucked her test into her bag, here she was thinking about various standards of beauty when she should be getting her notes ready. She'd completely own Ran on this next test, or her name wasn't Lydia Martin.

*Fourth Period Biology*

Danny sat down at his seat by the windows, Jackson falling into the chair behind him. He liked that he was able to sit with his friend in his class, unlike in Chemistry. After he'd gotten all of his stuff out he spun around in his chair to face Jackson.

"So, seems like you and Lydia are in a bit of a rough spot?" Danny mentioned with a smirk on his face. It wasn't anything new with them, they'd been dating since Freshman year after all; they'd hit a few bumps now and then. Especially since Jackson was the hot captain, and despite being in a relationship, girls still tried to get with him; Jackson had been good about turning them down though.

Jackson shook his head wearily, "It's Lydia, she gets all angry if I don't introduce myself as her boyfriend first thing. But you notice she didn't introduce me as her boyfriend, just Jackson."

"Well, that's because she doesn't want to become the clingy girlfriend, so she's giving you the chance to step up and be the guy willing and wanting to admit he's with her. I know you Jackson, you'd be pissed if she went around telling everyone she spoke to that you were her boyfriend. She doesn't want to be that girl, so instead she's hoping you'll step up to the plate and show you're just as committed to this as she is," Danny explained. "Besides, you were openly checking out Allison, right in front of her."

"Speaking of, she is pretty hot, it's nice to have a little new blood around school. So what if I don't always own up to being her boyfriend. You know for a fact I've never cheated on her, and almost the whole school knows we're an item. So I didn't immediately tell Allison, I don't get why she gets so huffy about it."

Danny gave his friend a look, knowing class would start soon, "And did you say anything about it to Allison in your 2nd period?"

Jackson just gave Danny his signature smile before picking up his pencil and nodding to the front of the class. Danny rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, that was typical Jackson. Sometimes, he couldn't believe that his friend was such a player, but… he was a loyal player (which yea, was a complete oxymoron) so at least he didn't have to be Lydia's shoulder to cry on.

*Fifth Period Algebra 2(B)*

Isaac nudged Stiles as they made their way down to the first floor, "Thanks for letting Erica borrow your sweatshirt, that was nice of you."

"Well, I didn't exactly mean to, I mean, I had folded it up for a pillow, you know- during the um, episode. Then I guess she held onto it when I took her to the nurse. But, I'm glad it's helping her,"

The two of them made their way into class, quieting down as Mrs. Duff gave them a look, she wasn't much for chatter in her classroom. Stiles sat behind Isaac and sighed, this was one class he really didn't miss; at least he had Isaac in class with him though, that was a plus.

Isaac leaned over to his left, "Hey Ran, um, I didn't do anything to piss you off right?"

She turned and looked at him, head tilted; she shook her head. What made him think that? They hardly even interacted, how could he have time to do anything to piss her off.

"It's just, you never really say anything to me, even though I try to spark a conversation," he explained, looking down at his hands, suddenly feeling nervous under her intense stare.

"Dude, seriously?" Stiles asked from behind him, snickering quietly. "Ran doesn't talk to anyone." He turned to Ran and waved, holding his fist up to his chest and moving it in a small circle, then he made a flatten 'O' shape with his left and circled it with his right pointer finger. Lastly he made a sort of 'L' shape against his forehead, then moved it to his other hand, both with their pointer fingers extended, giving Isaac a pointed stare.

Isaac looked between the two of them, confused as to what was happening. In response to whatever it was Stiles had communicated, Ran smiled and said something back. He watched as she held up her hand in a high-five shape and tapped her thumb to her chest a few times. Then she put her first two fingers on her chin and bent her knuckles to make a fist, shy smile on her face, pointing to Isaac after.

Stiles laughed and clapped his brother on the shoulder, "She isn't mad at you, not even close."

"What did you say to her?" Isaac asked, feeling completely left out and confused.

"I said 'sorry about my brother' because you clearly haven't had time to learn about Ran. She takes class seriously so I'm not surprised she hasn't taken the time to explain." He then turned to Ran and made two fists, holding them out at elbow height and pumped them a few times, then pointed to himself with a raised brow (May I?). After Ran nodded, Stiles turned back to Isaac, "Her parents are both deaf, and only her Dad took speech therapy lessons. So she grew up in a quiet house and doesn't talk much herself, she prefers to sign and all her teachers know that. But she's not mad, she said it was fine, and that she thinks you're cute."

Isaac flushed and looked back at Ran but she was already looking forward and had her hair falling over her shoulder like a curtain. "Wait, what?"

Stiles couldn't help but laugh at Isaac's face, "Dude, she probably just didn't realize you were trying to be her friend. But now you know."

"Okay, thanks for explaining, but how did you know?" Isaac demanded to know.

"Remember last year, when I bit off more than I could chew, and signed up for Earth Science as well as Astronomy? Ran was in Astronomy with me, and she was the one that completely saved my ass!"

Isaac's eyes widened, he remembered that; he also remembered teasing Stiles for it since he always went over to his 'study-buddy's' house and never had her come over. He thought maybe Stiles was finally getting over Lydia but Stiles laughed that explanation off. Before he could ask any more questions though, Mrs. Duff started class, immediately calling attention to the board. So apparently he'd have to get Stiles to teach him some sign language, to show Ran he wasn't a complete dunderhead. Stiles's sudden obsession with ASL last year made perfect sense, now that he had the full picture.

*After School*

"Wow, the first day back is always so long," Stiles complained as he stepped out of the school, Scott on his heels. "All that is left now is the lacrosse thingy and we're home free!"

"Right, like the lacrosse thingy isn't important," Scott muttered, trying to pump himself up.

Isaac, Erica, and Boyd all came out the front doors, Isaac waving to the boys, "Hey, thanks for waiting. Are you ready for tryouts?"

"Hell yea!" Scott cheered.

Stiles rolled his eyes, "More or less, but the odds are definitely _not_ in my favor."

Isaac nodded for Scott to start making his way to the field, knowing that Erica wanted a moment, semi-alone with Stiles. Boyd encouraged Erica with the slightest of pushes as he walked behind her, moving to the parking lot. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, feeling her cheeks warming already.

"Th-thanks for letting me borrow your hoodie, I'm sure you didn't realize I took it," Erica stammered out, hands twisting in front of her.

"Did it help? I mean, I know I put the hood up in class when I'm feeling like I want to be invisible," Stiles asked, easily noticing the hood despite the clear skies.

Erica smiled up at him, "Yea, it really did help. Especially since no one knew I had it, they've never seen me in it so I totally confused them."

As she started to pull her arms out of the sleeves, another group of lacrosse players walked by, some of the first-stringers, Jackson included. When they saw the two of them talking, they all started snickering, Andrew suddenly calling out. "Hey, look at that, two losers in love- how quaint!"

"Yea, about time you found someone that's in your league Stilinski, so stop obsessing over _my_ girlfriend!" Jackson called out.

Stiles's hands curled into fists as he saw Erica flinch and slump her shoulders forward- trying to make herself smaller. He turned towards the group of guys, "I don't care that you call me a loser, but you have no right calling Erica one! Take it back!"

"How sweet, first he lets her wear his ratty hoodie, and now he's sticking up for her. It must be love… that or Stiles is really desperate to finally drop his v-card," Andrew laughed.

Before Stiles could get over the shock of what was just said, Jackson led the boys away, towards the field. He started to walk after them, intent to make them eat their words (and, probably get his ass beat, but he wasn't going to let that comment go); then he heard Erica sniffling.

"Hey, hey don't listen to them, they are absolute fuckboys, they just want to make everyone around them feel like shit. It tricks them into thinking they aren't as empty on the inside," Stiles whispered, setting his hands on Erica's shoulders.

Erica let out a sob and threw her arms around Stiles's torso, burying her face into his shoulder. His arms automatically wrapped around her smaller frame, gently pulling her closer.

"I'm sorry they said those things in front of you. If it was just me, they could poke fun if they wanted, but you didn't do anything to deserve this."

She took a step back and furiously wiped at the tears running down her cheek, "You don't deserve it either! Jackson and his friends are despicable little cockroaches!"

From a few yards away, Isaac had paused, easily hearing what comments had been made about his brother and his friend. His fists were shaking by his side and he was clenching his jaw tightly.

"Hey, Isaac what's wrong?" Scott asked, noticing that he had stopped walking. "Whoa, dude, did I say something to make you mad?" he asked, seeing the look of pure anger on Isaac's face.

"No, you did nothing wrong, but Andrew, he's dead. You didn't hear what he said?"

Scott shook his head, confused, "Andrew didn't even walk by us."

"No, but he walked by Stiles and Erica. I heard what he said, and he's going to pay for it," Isaac growled, stomping over to the locker rooms. As soon as he was on the field, he was going to make sure Andrew was sitting this season out!

As Isaac stormed off, Scott turned back to see Stiles ushering Erica along, tucked under his shoulder. When they caught up with Scott, Stiles offered a quick explanation. "Jackson and his friends are disgusting, I won't repeat what they said but they are going to pay. Even if Coach kicks me off the team, I'm giving this my all. I asked and Erica said she wanted to be there to watch."

"Well, normally only Lydia and a few other girlfriends come, I don't want them being nasty to you to," Scott mentioned, worried about the girl tucked under Stiles's arm.

"I'll be sitting with her," a voice called out. The three of them turned and saw Boyd walking over. "I don't know what was said, but I looked up and saw Erica crying, so I'm not just going to go home."

"Well, Isaac is already on the rampage, he said he heard what Andrew said so, you aren't the only one that is looking for pay back. We've got your back!" Scott affirmed.

With one final nod to Erica, Stiles and Scott took off to the locker room, needing to get ready. Boyd led his friend over to the bleachers, arm around her shoulders protectively. He moved them so they were sitting furthest away from the other girls, ignoring their happy chittering.

"You sure you want to be here?" Boyd asked.

"Stiles stood up for me, when he could have thrown me under the bus, or even just stayed quiet. I want to support him, at least the little that I can, by being here to watch him play."

Boyd smiled at his friend, "Just wanted to make sure. I'll be here the whole time, making sure none of them try and mess with you."

Erica nudged him, "Thanks."

She held her breath as the three brothers came out of the locker room- Stiles and Isaac both had matching expressions on their face. Scott at least looked a little excited about the tryouts, so Erica hoped he got on the team. She didn't know much about the sport, she never watched last year, so she didn't know how many kids were allowed on the team. When Jackson called out a nasty remark to the boys, Erica scowled and leaned closer to Boyd- he was a total jerk!

"Boys, are you all ready? Gather around, tryouts start now, impress me!" Coach called out. As the boys all gathered around, he gave out a small pep talk, letting the boys know what he was looking for and which drills to run. He kept his talk short so Boyd assumed that they'd gone over all of this during the conditioning period before break.

Lydia turned toward Allison, "If you couldn't tell, lacrosse is the big sport at this school, so if you are looking for a boyfriend at all, these are the stars of the school. Just know that numbers 4, 5, 17, 21, and 37 are taken."

Allison offered a weak smile in response… she wasn't really looking for a boyfriend right now, she just moved here. She didn't really need any drama that came with a boyfriend so soon after starting here. But still, that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a look or two. "Well, just off the bat, I think 11 is kinda cute, who's that?"

The girls around her snickered, and Caitlin was the one to speak up, "That's Scott, I'll admit he's kinda got a puppy look going, but trust us, stay away."

"Yea, he's a bit of a loser, him and the oldest brother, major losers! The only one that has some worth is Isaac, and that's because he's a good player. But he hangs around with losers too, like, those two," Ashley added on, with a side glance at the two further down on the bleachers.

Allison frowned, that wasn't very nice, she could already tell that Ashley wasn't going to be her friend; judgmental people like that didn't deserve a spot in her circle of friends. Just because some people didn't get accepted into the popular circle, didn't make them losers or horrible people.

Lydia sighed, "Scott isn't a great player, but he's cute, but the girls are right, he doesn't offer up much. Plus him and his brothers are always getting into trouble so you wouldn't want to get involved with them. Not even Isaac, the most acceptable of the three- they are thick as thieves, so if you get involved with one, the other two are tagging along. Maybe… Adam Pierce, he's a good guy, he's sweet, and he's first string."

"He seemed nice enough at lunch," was all Allison offered. She tuned out their chatter as the boys all started to stretch and warm up, this was going to be a long practice if she was already being told who she could and could not cheer for. Still her eyes strayed to Scott a few times and even Isaac, socially acceptable or not, they were cute.

"Woo, show 'em what you got Jackson!" Lydia called out from the other side of the bleachers as they got ready.

When Jackson looked over, Erica hunkered down in the hoodie, not wanting him to spot her, but her and Boyd stuck out like a sore thumb. She felt more tears sting her eyes as he called Andrew over, pointing at them and snickering.

Andrew cupped a hand around his mouth, "Hey Stilinski, better watch out, looks like your loser girlfriend is already moving on. Guess she figured out how bad you are, came to watch you fail."

"Shut your mouth!" Isaac spat out, taking a few steps towards Andrew. Scott and Stiles grabbed his shoulders, telling him to wait. "Andrew doesn't get to say that about my friend, or my brother!"

"We're all tired of his crap, but he's one of the best players dude… So you know Coach is going to let him get away with the nasty remarks," Scott mumbled.

Stiles crossed his arms over his chest, "Yea, he won't step in unless bruises start forming, and sadly, all of them know the rules. But he won't get away with it, even if I get kicked off the team."

The three of them joined the line-ups, ready to start the drills; Scott was twirling the crosse in his hands, hoping all of his extra practicing was going to pay off, Isaac had a death grip on his crosse and was staring daggers at Andrew, and Stiles was taking some deep breaths, trying to come up with some scheme that would be worthy of Andrew's remarks.

As the minutes ticked by, Isaac felt his rage increasing, he hadn't found the time to strike and he was getting annoyed. But a few drills later and he saw his chance, until Stiles stepped in front of him, taking his place in the line-up.

"Sorry Isaac, I know she's your friend and all but I'm not letting you risk your spot on the team over scum like Andrew."

Isaac grit his teeth, there was no way what Stiles was planning was going to be enough! But he held in his growl and watched as his older brother raced towards Andrew, who was playing defense. Then Isaac watched as Stiles cleverly tripped himself up and went sailing through the air, he crashed to the ground in front of Andrew and rolled, sending the end of his stick right into Andrew's inner thigh. He heard Erica gasp from the stands, worried about Stiles, but Isaac knew better. To anyone else, it would just seem like the hyperactive kid lost control of his flailing limbs, but Stiles never tripped. Only Scott was capable of clumsiness on that level, and Stiles had copied it perfectly.

"Ouch dude, is that what I look like all the time?" Scott asked from a few places behind him. Scott had noticed it too, but luckily for Stiles, no one else thought twice about his sudden lack of grace.

Andrew cursed and rubbed his thigh, "Dude, control your feet, you just gave me a freaking Charlie horse!"

"Sorry, my bad… I need to retie my laces or something. Sorry!" Stiles called out, the smirk on his face telling the boy just how sorry he really was. He knew he was safe, since as far as Coach could tell, that was an honest stumble. As Stiles made his way to the back of the line-up, Isaac heard Jackson tell Andrew something.

"That loser thinks he's the only one that can play that game? Let's make his life hell!"

The boys directly behind Isaac shifted as he started growling; now that Andrew was taking his place in the group, Isaac would just have to start with Jackson. Lucky for him, Jackson was in the goal, giving Danny a bit of a break- perfect. Isaac hefted the ball in his net and charged, easily sweeping past Jordan's defense with a burst of speed. He torqued his arm and put as much power into the throw that he could; there was a resounding thud as it slammed into Jackson's stomach and knocked him off his feet.

Over on the stands, Lydia jumped to her feet, gasping as she watched Jackson fall; Erica and Boyd had to hold in their laughter at the same time. Jackson's groans of pain could be heard all the way across the field as the players huddled around him.

"Wow, Isaac, maybe you should hold back, just a little bit huh?" Coach said over his shoulder as he kneeled down over Jackson.

Isaac sighed out a typical response, "Sorry Coach, I guess I didn't realize my own strength after all my conditioning."

"Well, good news is I don't think you broke anything. Why don't you go sit on the bench Jackson, get your breath back. You know you have a spot on the team, since you won the spot of captain last year. Pierce, Mardon, help him out, the rest of you back to the drills."

Isaac cursed under his breath, too bad he didn't break anything, maybe ruptured his spleen or something, Mom was always telling them how nasty those cases were. But it would have to do until he could get to Andrew, and he had to make sure Andrew got seriously hurt. He made sure that he was lined up properly with his enemy this time, no one really expecting any further backlash. After a few more rounds of the drills, he had his chance. Isaac was playing offense again, Danny back in the goal and Andrew was defending.

"Perfect," Isaac snarled. He caught the ball in his net and pushed forward, passing the ball to his partner and back until they got to the defense line. With a powerful glance, he let his partner know that he wanted the ball to score, no questions. He caught the small ball and feinted around Andrew, easily throwing his arm back to score. This time when he released, he put all of the force into the back end of his crosse, effectively slamming into Andrew's knee as he came up behind him. His scream of agony caused Danny to flinch and Isaac scored, victorious grin on his face as the boy fell to the ground.

"Stevenson! Hey, Stevenson, how bad is it?" Coach asked, putting his hand just above Andrew's knee.

"God, it hurts! I think I tore something," Andrew gasped, curled up in a ball.

Andrew, let's get you to the nurse, we might need an ambulance," Dylan said, crouching down next to his friend.

Coach nodded his head, "Yea, Jackson, you help, might as well have the nurse check you out too. Keep me informed." He looked around for Isaac but he was nowhere to be found, none of the Stilinski brothers were in sight. He needed to make sure nothing was going on with Isaac, now that he'd managed to hurt 2 players in the span of 10 minutes.

*Inside the Locker Room*

"Isaac, whoa, calm down, come here," Scott called out, trying to grab Isaac's arm as he tore through the locker room.

"Bro, what's going on? Talk to us, please," Stiles asked.

"What do you want to know?" Isaac spat out, slamming himself onto one of the benches. "He insulted you and Erica, and then he was planning with Jackson to make your life hell Stiles. I won't stand for that!"

Carefully, Stiles sat down beside Isaac; it wasn't like him to be angry like this, he was always to quiet one. "Isaac, what's going on man? I mean, obviously you're mad, hella mad but… Andrew's knee is- how did you do that?"

"I don't know, I just hit him when I made my shot, must have hit him in a weak spot."

"And Jackson?" Scott asked, sitting on Isaac's other side.

Isaac gave him a dangerous smile, "I got a surge of rage and hit him as hard as I could. He deserved it."

"Sure, he did, but you raced off the field the minute Andrew hit the grass," Stiles mentioned.

"I'm just, trying to calm down. I was ready to just jump on his and start throwing punches. There was just this… rage inside me, so I ran," Isaac whispered.

Scott and Stiles looked at each other, surprised and taken back- Isaac had almost been violent? Isaac whimpered quietly and pulled his knees up to his chest, tears welling up in his eyes.

"What if I'm turning into my dad? My… my biological Dad?" Isaac wondered aloud, eyes staring blankly. "What if... what if all that anger, did I inherit that?"

Scott shook his head, "No way dude, Jackson and Andrew, they just pushed you over the edge today. You are _nothing_ like him."

"Are you sure? I've never felt anything like this before."

"The fact that you realized how mad you were and ran off, you stopped yourself from doing anything more. That proves you're better than your dad ever was. And now you're questioning your anger, you know that it doesn't feel right," Stiles explained, putting an arm around Isaac.

Isaac turned into the touch, burying his face in Stiles's shoulder and making himself as small as he could. Scott laid his cheek on Isaac's back, letting him know they were there for him. None of them spoke for a few minutes, just comforting each other as Isaac's heart finally slowed down. A few minutes later they all jumped as the locker room door opened and Coach called out to them.

"Stilinski, you in here?"

"Which one?" Stiles called out, ever the sarcastic pain in Coach's side.

"Where there's one, there are three," Coach mumbled. If Stiles was in here, he was bound to be with his brothers. "What happened out there?" he asked, turning the corner to see Isaac's distraught face.

"I didn't… I…" Isaac stammered out. He couldn't say he didn't mean to, because he did- he had wanted to hurt Andrew. He didn't really know what to say to Coach, although he was feeling guilty about it now.

"Andrew's going to need surgery, she said maybe a torn meniscus, or possibly a LCL tear. If it's just a meniscal tear, he'll be back on his feet in a few months, but if it's an LCL he'll be out for the season," Coach explained.

Isaac paled, "I hit him that hard?" He remembered thinking that he wanted Andrew to pay, to sit on the bench, but now he needed surgery, and he was the cause of it. He moaned in distress and covered his face with his hands, Isaac was preparing himself to get kicked off the team.

"What happened out there Isaac?" Coach Finstock asked.

Isaac bit his lip, knowing he couldn't tell the whole truth, "Well, I was focusing on what you said about reining in my strength… I was trying to get the ball past Danny without throwing it full speed. I.. I knew Andrew was behind me but.. I also kinda zoned you know? Like I didn't realize he was that close to me. I put more control into my throw and I aimed, adding the flick at the end, and that was when I hit him. I had thought maybe I hit him in the thigh, since I know that hurts like crazy. But then I saw him curled up on the ground and I freaked… he was hurt bad, because of me. I'm sorry…"

Finstock saw the look of anguish on Isaac's face and couldn't really yell at him for it, not when it seemed like a freak accident. "Well, depending on what exactly is wrong with Andrew's knee, I might have to bench you for a few games, accident or not. Which sucks because you're one of the starting players; why don't you take some of this new found energy and practice with Scott some more, he's showing some great improvement from last year."

"No praise for me?" Stiles asked, looking insulted.

"You tripped over your own feet and managed to hurt a teammate, you're lucky I'm even thinking about keeping you on the team. You're better than some of the other guys trying out, so at least you aren't the worst player this year," Coach told him.

Stiles held his hands up and smiled at his brothers, "See, look at that, a compliment! I am improving!"

"Yea, whatever, go ahead and change, I'm excusing you three from the rest of the try-outs. Get out of my hair, and please, try not to hurt anyone else!" Coach sighed before walking back out to the field.

As soon as he was gone, Stiles let out a sigh of relief, "Dudes, we're in the clear. And by some miracle Coach is letting me stay on the team. Let's get out of here!"

Scott and Isaac chuckled as they stood up to get dressed, things could have gone much worse that's for sure. When they got out of the locker room, they saw that Coach was still working the other boys hard for the remaining spots on the team, good luck to them.

"You didn't get kicked off the team did you?" Erica asked, running over to them.

"No, although I might be benched for a few games; no biggie, it was worth it," Isaac explained. "Coach just excused us from the rest of practice so we don't hurt anyone else."

Erica frowned, "You guys really didn't have to go that far, I mean I know you like playing lacrosse."

Isaac pulled Erica into a hug, "You are my friend, I care for you and he made you cry with his words. That's unforgiveable, and now he's paying for it."

"Yea, no regrets on my end either," Stiles added on, rubbing Erica's back. "Like I said before, you didn't deserve what they said about you."

"Coach said I've improved from last year, he noticed! I'm so happy!" Scott cried out, unable to stop himself.

"Couldn't hold in the good news, eh Scotty?" Stiles laughed, along with Boyd and Erica.

"Well at least he knows how to lighten the mood, even if it wasn't his intent," Isaac tacked on.

Erica blushed a bit and looked back down at her toes, "Well I guess if you boys are excused from practice now, there is no point in us staying."

"Did, did you two need a ride?" Stiles asked.

"No, Boyd has his mom's car today, but thanks!" Erica answered. It would be just too much if Stiles dropped her off at the house, way too embarrassing.

Stiles smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, "Okay then, see you tomorrow. And thanks for coming to watch us play… it was nice knowing that there were two people in the stands that weren't totally invested in us failing."

Erica waved and walked off with Boyd, before she could say or do anything to embarrass herself in front of the boys. It wasn't until she climbed into the passenger seat that she realized, once again, that she'd made off with Stiles's hoodie.

"Oh God, he's going to think I'm doing this on purpose," Erica moaned.

Boyd just rolled his eyes, "No he won't, Stiles won't mind if you just return it to him in the morning. If he really wanted it, he would have remembered to ask for it."

* * *

><p>AN: Introduced Ran a bit more in this chapter, getting in interactions with a few of the main characters. Felt like it was important to see Lydia act like her true self, when she didn't have anyone around that she was "pretending" around. Also, I know IRL Gage and Dylan don't have that much of a height difference, but I like writing Erica a bit shorter than Stiles, since I'm all about height differences! In this instance, Erica just happens to be the shorter one, I'm not -only- into pairing where the girl is shorter (or only Hetero couples in general). I just think in this instance, since she's Human (which may or may not change, still undecided), having her shorter, gives her the appearance of being... meeker. Like if I were to have her turn into a Were and become Badass!Erica, it will be that more noticeable when she starts wearing her heeled boots. So, we'll see.


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